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HISTORY 

OF  THE 

CITY    OF   BROOKLYN, 

N.  Y. 


VOLUME    II. 


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K"*»t*G.Mri*UTM.a>.\ 


GEN.  JEREMIAH  JOHNSON. 


HISTORY 


CITY  OF  BEOOKLTN 


INCLUDING 


THE  OLD  TOWN  AND  VILLAGE  OF  BROOKLYN, 
THE  TOWN  OF  BUSHWICK, 

AND 

THE  VILLAGE  AND  CITY  OF  WILLIAMSBURGH. 

BY 

HENRY    R.    STILES. 


VOL,   II. 


BROOKLYN,  N.  Y. : 
PUBLISHED    BY    SUBSCRIPTION 

1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869, 

By  D.  Williams  Patterson, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Northern  District  of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

History    of   the   Town    until   the   Incorporation    of    the 
Village  of  Brooklyn, 9 


CHAPTER  II. 
Brooklyn,  Sixty  Years  ago, 33 


CHAPTER  III. 
The  Village  from  1817  to  1834,  inclusive,  -  194 

CHAPTER   IV. 
The  City  from  1834  to  1855, 249 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Early  Settlers  and  Patents  of  Bushwick,   -        -        -    304 

CHAPTER    VI. 

History  of  Bushwick.  1660  to  1708, 328 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Ecclesiastical   History   of  the  Town   of    Bushwick,   1700 
to  1869, -     355 


yi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Page. 
BUSHWICK   DURING   THE    REVOLUTIONARY   WAR,  -  -  -      359 


CHAPTER   IX. 

bushwick    and    wllliamsburgh,    from    the    close   of   the 
Revolution,  until  1854, 371 


CHAPTER  X. 
Green-Point, 406 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Consolidated  City  of  Brooklyn  (Jan.  1st,  1855 -Jan. 
1st,  1869), 418 


NOTE 


We  take  especial  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  assistance  received 
from  J.  M.  Stearns,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  E.  D.,  who,  learning  of  our 
design,  soon  after  its  inception,  kindly  placed  in  our  hands  a  large 
amount  of  manuscript  material  which  he  had  collected,  with  a  view 
to  the  preparation  of  a  history  of  Williamsburgh ;  and  who  has,  at 
all  times  since,  freely  rendered  all  required  assistance  to  us  in  our 
labors.  Acknowledgments  are  also  due  to  Alden  J.  Spooner,  Esq. ; 
to  Mr.  Henry  E.  Pierrepont;  to  T.  M.  Perry,  Esq.,  of  Green- 
Point,  as  well  as  to  others  whose  favors  have  been  appropriately 
alluded  to  in  various  parts  of  this  volume. 

H.  R.  S. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

TO    SECOND    VOLUME. 


Page. 
Portrait  op  General  Jeremiah  Johnson,       -       -       -       Frontispiece 

Map  A,  The  Old  Ferry  District  op  the  Village,  in  1816,  -  37 

Portrait  op  Jacob  Patchen, 69 

View  in  Fulton  street,  1830, 74 

Guy's  Brooklyn  Snow  Scene,  in  1820, 89 

St.  Ann's  Church,  in  1823, 108 

Map  B,  The  Village  op  Brooklyn  and  the  Heights,  1816,       -       -  120 

Portrait  of  Hezekiah  B.  Pierrepont,  Esq., 147 

Map  C,  Course  op  a  portion  of  old  Jamaica  Turnpike,     -       -       -  163 

View  of  the  Fleet  Mansion, 165 

Valley  Grove,  or  Battle  Pass,  in  1816, 171 

Map  D,  Yellow  Fever  District  of  1823,    -                               ...  204 

Portrait  of  Cyrus  P.  Smith, 263 

PoRTriAiT  of  Henry  C.  Murphy, 266 

Map  op  Burned  District,  1848, 281 

Portrait  op  Samuel  Smith,   ...       - 287 

Portrait  of  Conklin  Brush, -  289 

Fac-Simile  of  Autograph  of  Bondewyn  Manout,    -       -       -    .  -       -  333 

Old  Bushwick  Church,  1828, 355 

Map  E,  Het  Dorp  —  Bushwick  Green, 373 

Old  Bushwick  Graveyard, 375 

View  of  the  Devoe  Houses, 375 

View  of  the  Boerum  House, 376 

Map  op  Green-Point, 406 

Portrait  of  Mr.  Neziah  Bliss,-       --------  410. 

Portrait  of  Samuel  Booth, 478 

Sailor's  and  Soldier's  Medals  (3  cuts), 4s- 

Portrait  of  Martin  Kalbfleisch, 492 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   TOWN   UNTIL  THE   INCORPORATION  OF  THE 
VILLAGE  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1812-1816. 
1812.  September  23d.  A  serious  fire,  originating  in  Benjamin 
Smith's  large  stable,  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  near  the  Old 
Ferry,  consumed  that  building,  together  with  nine  horses,  and 
communicated  to  Charles  Hewlett's  grocery  store,  T.  Hicks's  and 
Van  Mater's  stables,  and  the  large  stone  building  known  as  the 
"Corporation  House,"1  which  were  totally  destroyed.  Three 
dwelling  houses  were  also  injured  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
opportune  arrival  of  a  floating2  and  other  engines  from  Xew  York, 
the  fire  would,  in  all  probability,  have  crossed  the  street  and  en- 
dangered the  safety  of  the  whole  village.  The  flames  could  have 
been  sooner  arrested,  had  not  the  Xew  York  firemen  been  hin- 
dered at  the  ferry,  the  only  large  ferry  boat  happening  to  be  on  the 
Brooklyn  side  at  the  time  of  the  alarm.  Public  houses  and  private 
residences  were  freely  thrown  open  to  the  brave  firemen  who  had 
come  to  the  rescue,  and  the  inhabitants  vied  with  each  other  in 

2See  pages  311  and  312  of  first  volume. 

■Funic i h's  Manuscripts  (dated  1856),  says  :  "About  forty  years  ago,  Brooklyn  was 
often  visited  by  large  fires,  the  buildings  being,  with  very  few  exceptions,  all  frame. 
The  village  had  but  two  small  and  inefficient  fire  engines  and  relied  mainly  upon 
Xew  York  for  relief;  principally  upon  what  was  called  the  "floating  engine."  a 
large,  powerful  engine,  fitted  in  a  scow  and  propelled  by  oars,  and  which  was  worked 
by  about  fifty  men,  by  means  of  large,  long  handles,  turning  cranks.  This  engine 
lay  in  the  East  river,  near  Peck  slip,  and  when  a  fire  occurred  in  Brooklyn  the  vil- 
lagers were  always  intensely  anxious  for  its  arrival." 
9, 


10  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

furnishing  them  with  refreshments.  Messrs.  John  Doughty  and 
David  Seaman,1  the  engineers  of  the  Brooklyn  fire  department, 
returned  thanks,  in  the  public  prints,  to  the  New  York  firemen 
and  also  "to  Captain  Eobert  L.  Gardiner,  of  the  [fishing]  smack, 
for  his  willing  and  friendly  exertions  in  transporting  two  engines 
with  their  members,  across  the  East  river."  From  the  New  York 
firemen  the  Brooklynites  received  the  following  sensible  sugges- 
tion, which  was  sent  to  the  Star  for  publication  :  "  The  disastrous 
fire  of  the  23d  which  your  village  suffered  and  the  sundry  late 
fires,  ought  to  awaken  the  inhabitants  to  make  all  possible  prepa- 
rations to  facilitate  the  extinguishing  of  fires.  Whenever  you 
have  been  visited  by  a  fire  of  any  magnitude,  some  of  the  firemen 
of  New  York  have  come  to  your  relief.  Had  there  been  any 
ferry  boat  or  other  conveyance  at  command,  you  would  at  all 
times  receive  much  earlier  assistance.  Not  a  boat  belonged  to 
your  ferry  sufficiently  large  to  convey  one  engine,  nor  did  any 
cross  until  after  the  fire  had  raged  for  two  hours.     I  would  pro- 

1  Of  David  Seaman,  we  learn  that,  "  as  early  as  1795,  when  making  an  application 
for  a  stand  in  the  old  Fly-niarket,  he  was  highly  recommended  as  an  honest,  worthy 
man,  by  some  fifteen  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  that  period.  In  a  petition,  he 
states  that  "he  has  served  a  regular  apprenticeship  with  John  Doughty,  junior, 
butcher,  who  also  endorses  him  as  a  practical  butcher,  and  an  honest  man."  With 
all  these  vouchers,  Seaman  appears  to  have  been  then  unsuccessful ;  but  the  next 
year,  he  purchased  at  auction,  stand  number  71,  Fly-market,  for  which  he  paid  £290, 
and  became  known  as  a  "  beef  butcher,"  who  slaughtered  and  sold  only  the  largest 
animals.  He  was  a  great  patron  of  prize  or  extraordinary  cattle,  the  first  of  which 
we  find  noticed  in  the  month  of  April,  1799,  as  "  Two  very  extraordinary  Beaves," 
with  which  he  graced  his  stall;  and,  again,  in  1805,  he  purchased  a  remarkably 
large  pair  of  twin  cattle,  fattened  by  Hewlet  Townsend,  of  Oyster  bay,  which  were 
slaughtered  at  Brooklyn,  from  which  place  he  daily  brought  his  meats  in  large  row 
boats,  directly  across  to  the  Fly-market. 

"  At  an  early  day,  Seaman  became  much  interested  in  the  growth  of  the  town ; 
and  being  naturally  gifted  with  a  quick  and  active  mind,  he  greatly  assisted  in  the 
formation  of  a  fire  department  and  the  establishment  of  better  ferry  accommodations. 
He  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  town  for  the  years  1810,  1811,  and  1812  ;  and  he  be- 
came also  one  of  the  fire  engineers,  which  office  he  held  for  several  years. 

"After  Seaman  moved  to  the  city  of  New  York,  he  joined  its  fire  department  ; 
became  an  alderman,  when  that  office  was  held  by  worthy  men ;  and,  afterwards, 
was  sent  to  the  legislature,  where,  for  his  acts  of  firmness  and  independence  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties,  he  was  complimented  by  a  series  of  resolutions  passed  by  a 
citizen's  meeting,  held  in  the  park,  on  the  19th  of  May,  1824." — Devoe. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  H 

pose  to  your  inhabitants  that  they  build  two  scows,  one  for  each 
ferry,  sufficiently  large  to  feake  in  two  or  three  engines  ;  thai  these 
boats  be  deposited  in  out  ferry  slip,  in  which  case  you  may  at  all 

times  calculate  upon  assistance  from  the  Xew  York  firemen." 

The  subsequent  introduction  of  team  and  -team  boats  upon  both 
of  the  Brooklyn  ferries  gave  the  much  needed  facilities  for  succor 
from  Xew  York,  and  consequently  largely  diminished  the  risks  to 
which  Brooklyn  had,  hitherto,  been  exposed  by  tires. 

1813.  In  this  year  an  enterprise  originated  which  ultimately 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  first  public  school.  A  number 
of  charitable  ladies  of  the  village  formed  an  organization  and 
established  a  school  known  as  the  Loman  Seminary,  named  after 
Lois,  the  grandmother  of  Timothy  the  Apostle,  and  by  whom  he 
was  instructed  in  the  first  principles  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  aim  and  objects  of  this  association  will  be  best  understood 
by  the  following  statement,  drawn  up  and  signed  by  its  founders : 

LOISIAX    SEMINARY. 

"  The  object  of  this  Association  is  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  poor  children 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  knitting,  and  sewing,  gratis. 

"  A  suitable  room  to  be  provided  in  a  house  occupied  by  some  family. 

••  The  number  of  Trustees,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  attend  at  least  once 
each  week,  assisted  by  two  young  ladies  in  such  manner  as  the  Trustees  have 
fixed,  and  provide  paper,  books,  &c,  as  may  be  found  requisite. 

"  The  Trustees  are  to  judge  of  the  children  who  are  to  be  admitted. 

11  Money  for  the  rent  of  the  room  and  providing  books,  &c,  to  be  raised 
by  subscriptions  and  donations. 

':  It  is  expected  that  the  friends  of  this  school  who  may  have  books  proper 
for  the  children  will  furnish,  free  of  expense. 

"  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Trustees  to  see  that  the  children  admitted  in 
this  school  attend  divine  service  in  the  churches  to  which  they  belong. 

i;  The  Trustees  to  fix  the  hours  for  keeping  school  open,  and  to  make  all 
suitable  regulations  as  they  may  judge  proper. 

"  A  book  to  be  provided,  the  names  of  the  Trustees  and  the  young  ladies 
who  agree  to  assist  in  this  school  to  be  recorded,  with  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  said  school.  The  young  ladies  who  are  to  attend  weekly  are  to  be 
named  by  the  Trustees,  and  any  one  neglecting  to  attend  without  sufficient 
excuse  to  the  Trustees,  to  pay  a  fine  of  one  dollar. 


12  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

"  The  Trustees  who  attend  the  week  shall  make  a  report  of  the  children 
who  have  been  admitted  or  dismissed  during  the  week,  and  such  further  par- 
ticulars relating  to  the  school  as  they  may  think  proper. 

"  The  Trustees  to  meet  the  first  Wednesday  of  every  month  in  the  after- 
noon, at  4  o'clock. 

"  Mrs.  Sands, 
Mrs.  Onderdonk, 
Mrs.  Miller,  Trustees.' 

Mrs.  Moffat, 
Mrs.  Ireland,  Treasurer. 
"  H.  Cunningham,  Secretary." 


RULES    FOR   REGULATING   THE   LOISIAN    SEMINARY. 

"  The  school  to  be  regulated  by  five  Trustees,  namely,  Mrs.  Sands,  Mrs. 
Onderdonk,  Mrs.  Ireland,  Mrs.  Miller,  Mrs.  Moffat  and  Miss  Cunningham, 
Secretary  ;  one  of  the  Trustees  to  attend  throughout  the  week  to  open  the 
school  with  prayer,  and  to  see  the  business  of  the  school  properly  arranged. 

M  Twenty-four  young  ladies  to  be  elected,  who  will  attend  in  rotation,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Trustees. 

"  The  two  young  ladies  who  are  notified  on  the  preceding  Saturday  to  at- 
tend the  ensuing  week  will  be  under  the  presiding  Trustee's  direction. 

"The  school  to  commence  at  nine  o'clock  and  be  dismissed  at  twelve  in 
the  morning,  and  from  two  till  five  in  the  afternoon. 

"  No  visitors  will  be  admitted  unless  upon  business  connected  with  the 
school. 

11  It  will  be  necessary  that  the  presiding  Trustee  observe  that  the  children 
attend  punctually,  no  trifling  excuse  to  be  admitted,  and  that  they  are  kept 
clean,  and  behave  in  a  decent  manner. 

"  The  children  to  be  instructed  in  plain  sewing,  knitting,  spelling,  and 
reading  the  Bible. 

"  Any  young  lady  joining  the  society  and  not  disposed  to  assist  in  teaching 
will  be  expected  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  school  by  a  yearly  subscription. 

The  Loisian  School,  established  and  conducted  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  preceding  documents,  con- 
tinued for  five  years.  Some  of  the  teachers  got  married,  others 
tired  of  the  duties^  and  finally  a  lady  was  engaged  to  teach  at  a 
salary.  In  1817  Mr.  Andrew  Mercein  had  called  on  the  lady 
managers,  and  requested  that  a  teacher  might  be  employed  at  a 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  13 

salary  and  the  school  converted  into  a  public  school,  which  could 
only  be  done  under  the  then  existing  laws  by  showing  that  the 
school  was  conducted  by  a  teacher  or  teachers  who  had  been  draw- 
ing pay.  This  was  agreed  to.  The  last  teacher  of  the  Loisian 
School  was  Mrs.  Abrams,  wTife  of  the  undertaker  of  that  name 
formerly  connected  with  St.  Ann's  Church,  and  long  since  de- 
ceased. The  lady  herself  died  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Old  Ladies' 
Home. 

Mr.  Mercein,  and  his  associates  in  the  enterprise,  then  trans- 
ferred the  school  —  which  had  been  held  in  the  houses  of  the 
members  of  the  society,  without  any  permanent  building  —  to  a 
small  frame  house  corner  of  Concord  and  Adams  streets,  which 
was  subsequently  removed  to  make  room  for  the  present  building, 
occupied  by  Public  School  No.  1. 

In  December  of  this  year  an  Assistant  Society  was  formed  in 
Brooklyn  for  relieving  and  advising  the  sick  and  the  poor  during 
the  winter  season.  Its  appeal  to  the  benevolence  of  the  public 
was  signed  by  Thomas  Everit,  John  Garrison,  Abraham  Renisen, 
Andrew  Mercein,  John  G.  Pray  and  William  Cornwell. 

The  winter  proved  to  be  very  severe,  and  the  passage  of  the 
ferry  boats  was  accompanied  with  much  delay,  and  even  peril. 

1814.  War  matters  (see  chap,  xi,  of  first  volume);  and  the  in- 
troduction of  steamboats  on  the  Brooklyn  Ferry  (see  chapter  vi  on 
Ferries,  in  this  volume)  were  the  principal  events  of  this  year. 

1815.  May  1st.  An  association  was  organized,  under  the  name 
of  A  Society  to  Prevent  and  Suppress  Vice  in  the  Town  of  Brooklyn. 
On  the  11th  of  the  same  month  this  society  published,  in  the  Star, 
several  extracts  from  the  laws  of  the  state  of  New  York,  relative 
to  working,  sporting,  traveling  and  selling  on  Sunday,  which  publi- 
cation was  approved  by  Isaac  Nichols,  Xoah  Waterbury  and 
Tunis  Joralemon,  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  town  of  Brooklyn, 
and  notice  was  given  "that  the  law  will  be  rigidly  enforced."1 

1  The  following  list  of  the  officers  and  members  of  this  association  is  perhaps  worth 
preservation,  as  showing  who  were  at  that  time  the  substantial,  law-abiding,  "solid 
men  "  of  Brooklyn. 

Andrew  Mercein,  president,  Joshua  Sands  and  Joseph  G.  Swift,  vice  presidents, 
Fanning  C.  Tucker,  secretary,  Abraham  Renisen,  tr&mirer. 


14  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

September  15th,  witnessed  the  formation  of  a  Brooklyn  Female 
Religious  Tract  Society. 

December.  The  subject  of  a  village  incorporation  now  began 
to  be  considerably  agitated,  and  public  notice  was  given  by  Andrew 
Mercein,  as  chairman,  and  Alclen  Spooner,  as  secretary  of  a  meet- 
ing held  for  that  purpose,  that  application  would  be  made  to  the 
legislature  of  the  state,  at  its  next  session,  for  "  an  Act  of  Incor- 
poration for  the  Village  of  Brooklyn,  comprehending  the  Fire 
District." 

During  the  winter  of  1815 -'16,  several  cases  of  the  natural 
small-pox  occurred  in  Brooklyn,  and  the  mortality  from  this  disease, 
at  the  same  time,  in  the  city  of  ISTew  York,  was  considerable. 
Drs.  Ball  and  Wendell,  who  were  then  the  principal  physicians  of 
Brooklyn,  put  forth  a  public  advertisement,  stating  their  wish  to 
extend  the  benefits  of  vaccination  as  a  substitute  for  and  preven- 
tative of  the  small-pox,  and  offering  their  gratuitous  services  to  all 
favorably  disposed. 

1816.  January  6th.  A  public  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  a  public  school,  at  which  Andrew  Mercein,  John 
Seaman,  and  Robert  Snow  were  elected  trustees,  and  John 
Doughty,  clerk  of  the  school.  The  trustees  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  ascertain  a  proper  site  for  building  a  school  house, 
and  report  the  probable  expense  thereof.  At  a  meeting  held 
January  12,  1816,  the  trustees  reported  that  they  could  purchase 
four  lots  of  ground  on  Concord  street,  of  Mr.  Noah  Waterbury, 

Tlie  following  were  appointed  a  standing  committee,  viz :  S.  T.  Anderson,  Joseph 
Moscr,  Robert  Snow,  Robert  Bacli,  William  Cornwell,  Samuel  Sackett,  Robert  Hoey, 
David  Anderson,  William  Cunningham,  Christopher  Codwise. 

The  following,  in  addition  to  those  named  above,  were  members :  Samuel  Merwin, 
Selah  S.  Woodhull,  John  P.  K.  Henshaw,  John  G.  Pray,  John  O.  Zuill,  Charles  Ball, 
M.D.,  Benjamin  S.  Cook,  George  Smith,  Joseph  Herbert,  George  Gibbs,  Charles 
Hewlett,  Matthew  Wendell,  M.D.,  Newbury  Hewlett,  William  Foster,  Adam  Tred- 
well,  Simon  Richardson,  Ebenezer  Close,  Isaac  Moser,  John  McKenney,  John  Murphy, 
Jonathan  Monnell,  William  Wallace,  Hendrick  L.  Suydam,  Samuel  Morris,  Manuel 
Pestana,  Alden  Spooner,  Peter  Barr,  Joseph  Dean,  William  G.  Lawrence,  Samuel 
Wyckoff,  John  Dean,  Nicholas  Rouse,  William  Henry,  John  M.  Hicks,  Jacob  M.  Hicks, 
John  Garrison,  Leffert  Lcfferts,  Thomas  Kirk,  Jeromus  Schenck,  Edward  Coope, 
Abraham  Bennett,  John  Cornelison,  John  Dikeman,  John  Sharpe,  John  Jackson, 
John  Johnson,  Evan  Beynon,  James  Harper,  William  Grigg. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK  LTN.  1 ;, 

for  $550.  The  meeting  thereupon  resolved,  that  "the  sum  of 
§2,000  should  be  raised  by  tax  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
district,  to  purchase  said  Lots  and  to  build  a  school  house  thereon ;" 

and  that  "in  the  meantime,  the  Loisian  school  be  the  common 
school  of  the  said  district;"  and  that  "the  trustees  of  the  district 
be  authorized  to  exonerate  from  the  payment  of  teacher's  wages 
all  such  poor  and  indigent  persons  as  they  shall  think  proper, 
pursuant  to  the  act  of  the  legislature;"  and  that  "it  be  recom- 
mended by  this  meeting,  that  the  common  school  to  be  taught  in 
this  district,  be  on  the  Lancastrian  plan  of  instruction."  The  fur- 
ther history  of  this  enterprise,  from  which  originated  our  present 
public  school  system,  will  be  given  in  another  chapter. 

January  8th.  A  public  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  inha- 
bitants of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  was  held  at  the  public  house  of 
Lawrence  Brower,  "  to  take  into  consideration  the  proposed  appli- 
cation for  an  incorporation  of  Brooklyn."  On  the  following  day, 
Messrs.  Thomas  Everit,  Alclen  Spooner,  Joshua  Sands,  Rev.  John 
Ireland,  and  John  Doughty,  who  had  been  appointed  a  committee 
to  draft -the  required  petition  and  bill,  met  at  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Hez.  B.  Pierrepont,  and  proceeded  to  perform  the  important  task 
assigned  to  them.  The  papers  were  forwarded  to  Albany  early 
in  February,  and  the  anxious  (would  be)  villagers  were  informed 
by  the  Star,  on  the  13th  of  March,  that  the  bill  had  passed  the 
senate  and  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  house,  of  which  Dr. 
B.  F.  Thompson  (subsequently  the  historian  of  Long  Island),  was 
chairman. 

March  27th.  The  aspiring  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  being  now 
in  a  fair  way  to  obtain  their  village  charter,  straightway  turned 
their  attention  to  the  permanent  establishment  of  an  institution 
which,  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world,  is  considered  essential  to 
the  comfort  and  self-respect  of  a  properly  organized  community. 
"We  allude  to  a  barber's  shop.  We  would  not  have  our  readers  to 
suppose  that  these  founders  of  "the  third  city  in  the  Union/'  had 
always  gone  unshorn  and  unkempt;  nor,  that  they  had  been 
obliged,  "  from/time  immemorial,"  to  shave  themselves  —  but  they 
were,  at  the  period  of  which  we  write  —  bereaved.  Mr.  J.  Burke, 
who  for  some  years  before  had  exercised  the  tonsorial  profession 


16  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

among  them,  had  sought  a  wider  field  for  his  genius  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  so  great  was  the  necessity  of  his  late  patrons 
in  Brooklyn,  that  a  number  of  them  assembled,  made  up  a  sub- 
scription for  a  barber's  shop,  and  gave  a  barber  a  call!  The 
fortunate  recipient  of  this  "  call "  was  a  consequential  little  man 
named  Penny,  and  the  stock  subscribed  was  known  as  "  The 
Penny  Stock;"  which,  in  1819,  Mr.  Geo.  S.  Wise  offered,  by 
advertisement,  to  buy  up  at  its  original  price. 

This  incident  elicited  from  a  local  poet  (Alden  Spooner,  editor 
of  the  Star),  the  following 

NEW    SONG. 
Tune. —  Anacreon. 
At  Barnum's  hotel,1  where  they  met  in  full  glee, 
A  few  sons  of  merriment  drew  a  petition, 
Their  beards  were  unshaven  and  hideous  to  see, 
And  their  heads  discomfrizzled,  in  frightful  condition, 
Each  one  told  his  case, 
With  deplorable  face, 
And  ask'd  what  relief  could  be  found  in  the  place  ; 

For  the  fair  (tender  creatures)  their  smiles  never  gave, 
To  the  man  who  neglected  to  comb  and  to  shave. 

Then  jump'd  upon  a  bench  and  addressed  the  throng, 
A  man  of  small  size,  but  in  consequence  big,2 
And  said,  "  for  a  price  which  no  man  will  deem  wrong, 
Til  smooth  every  chin  and  pomatum  each  wig ; 
Put  your  names  down  I  say, 
If  five  dollars  you'll  pay, 
I'll  build  a  snug  barber's  shop  over  the  way, 
Where  ev'ry  true  son  of  Columbia  may  shave, 
And  the  fair  will  yield  to  the  smiles  of  the  sleek  and  the  brave." 

The  news  thro'out  Brooklyn  most  rapidly  flew, 
And  a  Wise3  man  was  called  to  direct  the  affair, 
The  Shaver's  hard  fortune  he  held  out  to  view, 
And  all  lent  a  favorable  ear  to  his  prayer, 

1  The  Franklin  Hotel,  No.  1  Fulton  street,  is  the  successor  of  Barnum's  House. 
2  Penny.     3  George  S.  Wise. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  17 

They  signed  a  long  roll, 
Bought  a  place  for  his  pole, 
And  a  snug  little  building  now  gladdens  his  soul, 

Where  the  wise  and  the  otherwise,  the  gallant  and  brave, 
May  frizzle  and  powder,  may  lather  and  shave. 

April  12th.  The  act  incorporating  the  village  of  Brooklyn  passed 
the  legislature  of  the  state. 

That  portion  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  thus  set  aside  as  a  distinct 
government,  an  imperium  in  imperio,  had  previously  been  known 
as  the  fire  district,  established  in  1801,  and  was  described  as 
"  beginning  at  the  Public  Landing  south  of  Pierrepont's  Distillery 
formerly  the  property  of  Philip  Livingston  deceased,  on  the  East 
River;  thence  running  along  the  Public  Road  leading  from  said 
Landing,  to  its  intersection  with  Red  Hook  Lane;  thence  along 
said  Red  Hook  Lane  to  where  it  intersects  the  Jamaica  Turnpike 
Road;  thence  a  north-east  course  to  the  head  of  theWallaboght  Mill- 
pond  ;  thence  through  the  centre  of  the  Mill  pond  to  the  East  River; 
and  thence  down  the  East  River  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  officers  of  the  newly  created  village  were  to  consist  of  five 
trustees  and  three  assessors,  to  be  chosen  on  the  first  Monday  in 
May  of  every  year,  by  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  qualified 
to  vote  at  town  meetings.  The  board  were  authorized  to  choose 
their  president,  treasurer,  clerk,  and  collector;  also  to  appoint 
weighers  and  measurers. 

The  freeholders  and  inhabitants  were  declared  a  body  corporate, 
and  "  by  law,  capable  of  purchasing,  holding  and  conveying  any 
estate,  real  and  personal,  for  the  use  of  said  village  (provided 
the  said  estate  be  within  the  limits  of  the  said  village),  and  of 
erecting  any  public  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  said  village,  and 
of  raising  money  by  tax  for  erecting  such  public  buildings,  pur- 
chasing such  real  and  personal  property,  or  making  anyT  necessary 
repairs  or  improvements,  procuring  fire-engines  and  other  utensils 
for  extinguishing  fires,  and  for  making  a  reasonable  compensation 
to  the  ofiicers  of  the  corporation." 

The  trustees,  or  a  major  part  of  them,  were  empowered  "  to  make, 
ordain,  constitute,  and  publish  such  prudential  by-laws,  rules  and 
3 


18  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

regulations,  as  they  from  time  to  time  shall  deem  meet  and  pro- 
per ;  and  such  in  particular  as  relate  to  the  public  markets,  streets, 
alleys  and  highways  of  the  said  village ;  to  draining,  filling  up, 
levelling,  paving,  improving,  and  keeping  in  order  the  same ;  to 
slaughter-houses,  houses  of  ill  fame,  and  nuisances  generally; 
relative  to  a  village  watch,  and  lighting  the  streets  of  the  said 
village  ;  relative  to  restraining  geese,  swine  or  cattle  of  any  kind ; 
relative  to  the  better  improvement  of  their  common  lands;  relative 
to  the  inspection  of  weights  and  measures,  and  assize  of  bread ; 
relative  to  erecting  and  regulating  hay  scales;  relative  to  the 
licensing  of  public  porters,  cartmen,  hackney-coachmen,  guagers, 
weigh-masters,  measurers,  inspectors  of  beef  and  pork,  of  wood,  of 
staves,  and  heading,  and  of  lumber;  relative  to  public  wells,  pumps, 
and  reservoirs  or  cisterns  of  water  to  be  kept  filled  for  the  extin- 
guishment of  fires ;  relative  to  the  number  of  taverns  or  inns  to  be 
licensed  in  said  village;  and  relative  to  anything  whatsoever  that 
may  concern  the  public  and  good  government  of  the  said  village ; 
but  no  such  by-laws  shall  extend  to  the  regulating  or  fixing  of  the 
prices  of  any  commodities  or  articles  of  provision,  except  the  arti- 
cle of  bread,  that  may  be  offered  for  sale." 

Messrs.  Andrew  Mercein,  John  Garrison,  John  Doughty,  John 
Seaman,  and  John  Dean,  were  named,  by  the  act,  as  the  first 
trustees  of  the  village,  to  remain  in  office  until  the  first  Monday 
in  May,  1817,  when  an  election  was  to  be  held  by  the  people. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  these  gentlemen  took  the  oath  of  office  as 
trustees,  and  held  their  first  meeting  on  the  4th  of  May,  following. 

Another  important  event  of  this  memorable  year,  1816,  was  the 
establishment  of  a  Sunday  School  in  the  village. 

It  seems  that  a  Sunday  School  had  been  established  in  the  fall  of 
1815,  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  "for  the  education  of  the  blacks 
in  that  vicinity,  by  the  gratuitous  services  of  some  young  men  as 
teachers" — and  that  the  school  had  subsequently  "been  taken 
under  the  charge  of  an  association  for  educating  the  ignorant.1 

This  philanthropic  enterprise  met  with  a  prompt  response  from 
Kings  county;  where,  atFlatbush,  on  the  17th  of  December,  of  the 

^tar,  January  3d,  1816. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  19 

same  year,  a  "  Sunday  School  was  opened  for  the  education  of 
slaves."  "  At  a  very  short  notice,  according  to  the  newspapers  of 
the  day,"1  upwards  of  one  hundred,  from  the  age  of  ten  to  sixty 
assembled.  They  commenced  with  writing,  and  conducted  them- 
selves in  the  most  becoming  manner.  In  the  evening  they  were 
instructed  in  figures,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  value  of 
money  bills  in  circulation.  Schools  are  to  be  opened  every  night 
in  the  week  in  each  town  in  the  county.  A  store  will  shortly  be 
opened,  the  profits  of  which  are  to  be  applied  solely  to  their  edu- 
cation. All  such  as  are  disposed,  will  have  an  opportunity  of 
having  their  slaves  instructed  in  different  mechanical  branches. 
The  plan  is  well  arranged,  and  nothing  but  the  misconduct  of  the 
blacks  can  defeat  the  laudable  views  of  this  philanthropic  society. 
Subscription  books  are  opened  at  Flatbush,  for  the  free  blacks 
from  Brooklyn  and  ^"ew  York. 

Of  the  ultimate  success,  or  history,  of  this  laudable  enterprise, 
we  have  no  further  record.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  its  influence 
was  not  lost  upon  some  of  the  more  thoughtful  and  earnest  Christ- 
ians in  the  community ;  for,  in  March,  1816,  we  learn  that  a  Sunday 
School  was  then  "  in  operation  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn;"2  that 
"the  number  of  children  who  appear  to  have  entered  as  scholars  is 
upwards  of  seventy;  their  attention  generally  to  their  studies  is 
such  as  to  give  great  satisfaction  and  encouragement  to  their  teach- 
ers;" and  that  the  school  was  "under  the  management  of  four 
superintendents;  a  standing  committee  of  seven,  and  a  number  of 
(volunteer)  teachers,  male  and  female."  The  design  of  the  institution 
is  declared  to  be  the  combining  "  of  religious  and  moral  instruction 
with  ordinary  school  learning ;  "  and  the  parents  and  guardians  of 
the  children  who  attend,  while  urged  to  co-operate,  by  their  ad- 
vice and  influence  at  home,  with  the  efforts  made  by  the  teachers, 
are  also  "  particularly  requested  "  to  express  their  wishes  as  to  what 
catechism  they  would  have  them  study.     We  further  learn  "  that 

1  Nat.  Advertiser,  quoted  by  the  Star,  of  December  20,  1815. 

2  Evidently,  the  school  had  been  some  little  time  "  in  operation,"  although  this  is 
the  first  date  which  we  can  assign  to  it.  From  what  has  been  told  us  by  Judge 
John  Dikeman,  one  of  its  earliest  teachers,  it  is  probable  that  it  had  its  beginnings 
sometime  in  1815. 


20  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  children  are  taught  to  spell,  read  and  write,"  and  that  "  they 
will,  likewise,  be  taken  to  such  church  as  their  parents  may  choose, 
once  on  the  Lord's  Day."  In  conclusion,  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  all  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  the  village  is  invoked  in  behalf  of 
the  school,  the  object  of  which  is  declared,  by  its  founders,  to  be 
the  taking  "  of  a  number  of  poor  children  from  that  most  destructive 
of  all  places  to  the  morals  of  youth,  we  mean  the  street  on  the  sabbath 
day."  Who  these  founders  were,  or  the  principal  of  them,  we  learn 
from  the  signatures  to  this  address  or  statement ;  viz  :  Andrew  Mer- 
cein,  Robert  Snow,  Joseph  S.  Harrison,  and  John  Murphy;  and,  we 
may  add,  Joseph  Herbert.1 

1  These  men,  who  were  neither  wealthy,  influential  (in  the  worldly  acceptation  of 
that  term),  or  even  "  to  the  manor  born,"  may  justly  be  honored  as  the  true  "  foster- 
fathers"  of  the  infant  village  of  Brooklyn.  "  Instant,  in  season  and  out  of  season," 
in  "  every  good  word  and  work,"  and  thoroughly  unselfish  in  their  desire  to  benefit 
their  fellow  men,  they  were  always  to  be  found  as  the  leaders  of  any  enterprise, 
which  promised  to  advance  the  religious,  educational,  or  social  interests  of  the  com- 
munity ;  and  accomplished,  in  the  course  of  their  long  and  useful  lives,  an  incalculable 
amount  of  good,  the  influence  of  which  is  even  yet  felt  in  the  city  which  has  arisen 
upon  the  scene  of  their  former  labors.  We  have  taken  pains,  therefore,  to  collect 
such  biographical  details  concerning  them,  as  may  properly  preserve  their  memory : 
commencing  with  a  sketch  of  Robert  Snow,  who  (though,  with  characteristic  modesty, 
his  name  never  appears  first  on  the  list),  is  known,  by  all  concurrent  testimony,  to 
have  been  prominently  the  leader  in  this  Sabbath  School,  as  in  all  other  similar 
enterprises  of  that  period,  in  Brooklyn. 

Robert  Sxow  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  we  first  hear  of  him,  in  America,  as 
keeping  a  small  shoe  shop  near  the  corner  of  Reed  and  Elm  streets,  in  New  York 
city.  About  this  time  he  married  Susan  Meir,  who  had  been  a  fellow  passenger  in 
the  ship  which  brought  him  to  this  country.  She  was  of  an  amiable  and  industrious 
character ;  and,  while  her  husband  mended  shoes,  she  took  in  washing.  Their  united 
frugality  and  industry,  at  length,  enabled  them  to  open  a  small  grocery  ;  but,  after 
a  few  weeks  trial  of  this,  Robert  became  thoroughly  disgusted  with  it,  telling  his 
wife  that,  "  as  his  customers  wanted  only  a  pound  of  soap,  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  a 
pint  of  rum,  varied  by  some  squalid  child  calling  at  dark  for  a  twopenny  candle  and 
a  bottle  of  gin,"  he  would  not  administer  to  intemperance  and  vice ;  but,  would 
rather  "  trudge  about  the  city  and  saw  wood,"  for  a  living.  Selling  out  his  shop,  he 
soon  found  a  clerkship  with  John  Pintard,  in  whose  employ,  all  his  principles  of 
honesty,  industry  and  benevolence  were  fostered  by  the  daily  example  of  one  of  the 
kindest,  most  active  and  worthy  merchants,  which  New  York  ever  possessed. 
Through  Mr.  Pintard's  aid,  Robert  Snow  obtained  a  situation  as  foreman  in  Kip's 
potash  store,  and  his  assiduity  there  was  rewarded  by  his  appointment  as  potash 
inspector,  about  the  year  1788.     He  now  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  John  Brower, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  21 

Thus  far,  the  Brooklyn   Sunday  School,  as  it  was  called,  seeme 

to  have  been  mostly,  if  not  entirely,  in  the  hands  of  those  who 

who, though  a  moderate  man  in  politics,  was  often  removed  and  reapj>ointed —  while 
Mr.  Snow,  amid  all  political  strifes,  and  at  a  time,  when  party  measures  were  violent, 
was   never  once   removed  —  his  unswerving    fidelity,  and   kindness    of  disposition 

having  won  fche  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  In  course  of  time,  he  acquired  the 
means  of  purchasing  some  land  adjoining  the  "Negro  burying  ground*'  (in  the 
rear  of  Mr.  A.  T.  Stewart's  present  lower  store  in  Broadway);  and  erected  thereon 
three  houses,  in  one  of  which  he  resided,  surrounded  with  all  the  comforts  then 
appertaining  to  gentlemen  in  moderate  circumstances.  His  houses,  however,  were 
burned,  and  his  title  to  the  land  (a  part  of  the  well  known  Teller  estate)  subse- 
quently became  invalid  and  worthless. 

It  is  related  of  Messrs.  Snow  &  Brower,  whose  store  was  in  Front  street  near 
Broad,  that  in  the  summer  months,  when  the  men  who  were  at  work  early 
"  knocked  off"  at  8  a.m.  and  went  home  to  breakfast,  the  two  partners  were  ac- 
customed to  retire  to  their  little  private  office  ;  and,  while  a  frugal  meal  was  prepar- 
ing for  them  in  a  neighboring  cook  shop,  a  half-hour  was  spent  by  Mr.  Snow  in  read- 
ing aloud  from  the  Bible,  and  then,  after  a  short  prayer,  breakfast  was  eaten  and 
they  were  ready  for  work  again,  by  the  time  the  men  returned  to  the  store.  Even, 
if,  from  press  of  business,  they  were  compelled  to  snatch  a  hurried  repast,  it  was 
always  in  the  privacy  of  the  little  back  office,  and  never  without  a  short  prayer,  or 
"  grace."  As  business  increased  upon  them,  they  took  in  another  partner,  who 
ultimately  became  intemperate,  lost  all  self-respect,  begged  in  the  streets,  and  died 
in  the  Alms  House.  It  was  well  known  that  no  beggar  (unless  intoxicated)  ever 
applied  to  Mr.  Snow  without  receiving  help  ;  and,  to  his  old  partner,  he  had  not  the 
heart  to  refuse  the  alms  which  the  besotted  man  occasionally  asked  of  him.  The 
only  way,  therefore,  in  which  he  could  withstand  his  importunities  was  to  take  all 
the  money  from  his  pockets  and  give  it  over  to  Mr.  Brower's  safe  keeping,  whenever 
he  had  occasion  to  expect  a  call  from  his  former  partner.  Mr.  Snow's  rooted  aver- 
sion to  intemperance  was  very  noticeable  at  a  period  when  drinking  usages  were 
common,  and  no  one  ever  thought  of  reforming  the  drunkard.  The  feeling  had  been 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  unfortunate  fate  of  two  of  his  wife's  nephews,  whom 
Mr.  Snow  had  brought  over  from  Ireland,  at  his  own  expense,  and  had  furnished 
with  every  facility  for  doing  well  in  this  new  country.  But  they  could  not  withstand 
the  temptation  so  destructive  to  their  countrymen  generally.  One  of  them  became 
a  stupid  sot,  whom  he  supported  while  living,  and  buried  when  dead  ;  the  other,  in 
addition  to  his  drinking  habits,  defrauded  his  benefactor  of  a  considerable  amount, 
was  forgiven,  and  his  debts  paid  ;  but.  proving  incorrigible,  was  shipped  back  to 
Ireland  by  Mr.  Snow. 

To  one  constituted  as  Mr.  Snow  was.  no  blessing  could  be  greater  than  children, 
and  of  these  he  had  seven,  all  of  whom,  however,  died  in  early  youth.  To  rill,  in 
some  measure,  the  void  thus  left  in  his  heart,  he  adopted  many  children  from  time 
to  time,  and  never  had  less  than  two  in  his  hone  -  □  of  these  were  girls.  Borne 
of  whom   are   now  happily  settled  in  life,  while  the  unhappy  marriages  of  others 


22  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

were  identified  with  Methodist  denomination  in  the  village. 
But  these  gentlemen  and  their  co-laborers  were  evidently  unin- 

brought  much,  pain  and  trouble  to  the  good  man's  heart.  After  the  loss  of  land  and 
houses,  his  business  being  a  lucrative  one,  he  had  begun,  without  any  diminution  of 
his  charities,  to  build  up  his  fortune,  and,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  when  — 
through  the  misconduct  of  the  husband  of  one  of  these  adopted  daughters,  for  whom 
he  had  endorsed  —  his  property  was,  for  the  second  time,  wholly  swept  away. 
Though  this  severe  blow  neither  depressed  his  spirits,  soured  his  feelings,  or  dimi- 
nished his  ever  active  charity,  yet  age  had  crept  upon  him,  and  feebleness  of  body  so 
clogged  his  energy  of  mind  as  to  prevent  his  making  more  than  a  mere  competency 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  so  long  as  health  was  spared  to  him.  When, 
however,  that  failed,  he  became  poor  indeed.  But  no  murmur  escaped  him,  and  it 
was  only  when  his  friends  accidentally  found  his  house  without  food,  that  they  were 
aware  of  the  straits  to  which  he  had  been  reduced.  Then,  with  the  same  gentleness 
with  which  he  had  ministered  to  the  poor  and  lowly,  did  they  attend  on  him,  and, 
thenceforth,  his  pillow  of  poverty  was  smoothed  by  kind  hands,  although  he  never 
knew  whose  they  were.1  Among  the  other  afflictions  which  clouded  Mr.  Snow's 
pathway,  was  the  suffering  of  his  excellent  wife,  who  was  afflicted  with  rheumatism 
for  twenty-two  years,  during  eighteen  of  which  she  was  confined  to  her  bed  and 
chair,  unable  to  feed  herself  or  raise  a  hand  even  to  brush  away  a  fly  from  her  face. 
Her  condition  required  the  constant  attention  of  one  person,  and  of  three  to  move 
her,  yet  the  cheerful  piety  which  beamed  from  her  eye,  and  the  tranquil  sweetness 
of  her  conversation,  made  her  sick  room  pleasant  to  both  old  and  young  who  visited 
her.  So  kindly  were  her  wants  ministered  to  by  others,  that  her  husband  was  never 
obliged  to  neglect  his  business,  or  to  intermit  the  fatherly  cares  and  duties  called 
for  by  his  adopted  children  ;  and  indeed  by  all  the  children  of  the  village,  at  that 
day.  For  he  was  "  everybody's  friend,"  and  none  found  it  out  sooner  than  the  little 
ones,  to  whom  for  more  than  forty  years, "  Poppy  Snow  "  was  a  beloved  friend  and 
counsellor.2  The  philanthropic  labors  of  Robert  Raikes,the  founder  of  Sabbath 
Schools  in  England,  deeply  interested  Mr.  Snow,  who,  in  due  time,  quietly  took 
up  the  good  work,  and  joined  by  Andrew  Mercein  and  Joseph  Herbert,  visited  the 

1  We  have  heard  an  anecdote  illustrative  of  this  which  is  also  so  characteristic  of  the  other  party 
named  that  we  deem  it  worthy  of  preservation.  One  of  the  market  men,  with  whom  Poppy  Snow 
had  dealt  for  a  long  time,  was  a  portly,  good  natured  man,  a  fellow  worshiper  at  the  Methodist 
church,  and  knowing  his  excellencies  as  well  as  his  straightened  circumstances,  always 
found  occasion  to  refuse  his  money.  Suspecting  the  motive,  Mr.  Snow  once  said  to  him,  "  Now, 
Brother  Garrison,  this  will  not  do.  I  must  pay  for  what  I  eat;  tell  me  how  much  I  owe  you." 
"Well,  well,1'  says  Mr.  Garrison,  "  I  will  look  up  your  account  against  the  morrow."  When  the 
morrow  came,  however,  Mr.  Snow  found  only  a  dollar  charged  against  him.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  I 
will  try  another  of  my  Methodist  friends,"  and  did  so ;  but  when,  after  trading  with  him  for  four  or 
five  weeks,  he  asked  for  his  bill,  it,  also,  only  amounted  to  as  many  shillings. 

2  During  Mr.  Snow's  temporary  absence  from  home,  the  minister  of  the  congregation  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  at  the  close  of  a  sabbath  sermon,  desired  his  listeners  to  tarry  a  few  moments  while 
he  would  read  to  them  a  letter  he  had  received,  the  day  before,  from  "Poppy  Snow."  The  parental 
appellation  stuck,  and  was  soon  used  by  every  inhabitant  of  the  village  :  for  old  and  young,  alike, 
seemed  to  feel  that  it  brought  them  nearer  to  the  kind  old  gentleman. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  23 

fluenced   by  any  unworthy  or   sectarian  prejudices,  for,  shortly 
after,  we  find  in  the  village  paper,1  a  call  for  a  public  meeting,  to 

lStar,  March  27th,  1816. 


neglected  places  of  the  village,  leading  the  children  of  the  poor,  without  regard  to 
color,  to  the  school-room,  where  they  could  be  taught  the  principles  of  religion  and 
morality.  Nor  did  their  labors  cease  here ;  but,  in  the  severe  winters,  these  needy 
ones  were  clothed,  and  their  various  necessities  ministered  to  by  Mr.  Snow  and  his 
coadjutors,  who  always  made  the  first  of  January,  a  "  Happy  New  Year  "  by  dispens- 
ing on  that  day,  at  the  school-room,  shoes,  stockings,  flannel  garments,  etc.,  which 
had  been  solicited  from  the  wealthier  citizens.  Gradually,  as  the  numbers  increased, 
there  came  a  pressing  necessity  for  larger  accommodation,  and  with  the  beams  and 
timber  from  his  old  potash  store  in  New  York,  was  commenced  the  first  Sabbath 
School  building  in  Brooklyn. 

Then  the  colored  children  were  separated  from  the  white  ;  benevolent  and  active 
persons  (one  each  from  the  Dutch  Reformed,  Episcopal,  Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
churches  of  the  village),  were  selected  by  Mr.  Snow  as  teachers,  who,  when  the 
Sabbath  School  session  ended,  accompanied  portions  of  the  scholars  to  such  of  the 
churches  as  they,  or  their  parents,  preferred  to  have  them  attend.  Again,  so  greatly 
was  this  enterprise  blessed,  a  new  and  larger  school  house  was  needed,  and  Mr. 
Snow  then  proposed  to  three  of  his  coadjutors  (James  Engles,  Joseph  Moser  and 
Robert  Nichols),  that  they  should  join  him  in  erecting,  at  a  certain  specified  cost,  a 
building  sufficiently  large  to  hold  all  the  Sabbath  School  children  then  in  Brooklyn. 
He,  also,  informed  them  that  he  had  spoken  with  a  school  teacher,  who,  with  a  school 
mistress,  would  rent  it  for  week  day  use,  at  a  rate  sufficient  to  pay  interest  on  its 
cost  and  incidental  expenses.  The  building  was  accordingly  erected  by  them,  in 
Prospect  street  (present  Nos.  33  and  35),  near  Adams,  and  there  all  the  children, 
which  could  be  gathered  together  were  formed  into  one  large  Sabbath  School,  em- 
bracing a  portion  of  the  children  belonging  to  every  congregation.  In  after  years 
as  each  religious  denomination  became  better  estabbshed,  and  new  places  of  worship 
were  erected,  these  children  gradually  withdrew  to  the  schools  attached  to  their 
respective  churches,  but  all  with  kind  feelings,  and  carrying  with  them  the  good 
wishes,  through  life,  of  the  teachers  they  left.  In  the  Sunday  School  cause,  "  Poppy 
Snow  "  never  lost  his  interest,  and  when  a  lingering  illness  confined  him  to  his  house 
(next  door  to  the  Methodist  church  in  Sands  street),  the  scholars  of  that  persuasion, 
the  most  numerous  in  the  village,  always  looked  for  him  at  the  door,  as  they  passed 
on  their  way  to  the  school.  A  week  before  his  death,  he  asked  to  have  the  children 
pass  before  his  window,  which  they  did,  every  boy  doffing  his  cap,  and  every  girl 
"  dropping  a  curtsy,"  while  the  good  old  man  returned  bow  for  bow  and  blessing 
for  blessing,  as  the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  and  dimmed  his  aged  eyes. 

After  the  Sabbath  School  enterprise  was  fully  established,  Mr.  Snows  interest  in 
youth  took  a  wider  scope  and  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  to  carry  out  Mr.  William 
Wood's  suggestion  for  the  organization  of  an  Apprentices'  Library,  in  1823,  of 
which  he  was  chosen  the  first  president.     He  it  was,  also,  who  proposed  to  the 


24  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

be  held  on  the  evening  of  March  27th,  at  Mr.  Evan  Beynon's 
school-room,  "  at  which  Christians  of  every  denomination  in  Brook- 
directors  of  that  institution  the  appointing  of  a  committee  to  procure  a  charter  for  a 
Savings  Bank,  for  the  benefit  of  the  apprentices,  mechanics  and  others.  Much  of 
the  labor  then  necessary  to  obtain  information  on  which  to  properly  base  their  appli- 
cation, as  well  as  in  preparing  a  charter,  which  should  be  guarded  against  abuses, 
was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Snow,  who  also  named  the  first  officers,  and  was  named  in 
the  charter  of  incorporation  as  one  of  the  corporators.  He  was  a  strenuous  advo- 
cate for  the  moral  and  intellectual  education  of  children,  and  though  holding  repub- 
lican sentiments,  and  strongly  opposed  to  the  arbitrary  exercise  of  power,  he  was 
often  heard  to  say  that  he  would  willingly  sanction  one  tyrannical  act,  viz  :  the  com- 
pelling of  every  parent  to  send  his  child  to  school.1  His  favorite  maxim,  often 
repeated  and  faithfully  acted  upon  in  the  course  of  his  long  and  active  life,  was 
"Endeavor  to  leave  the  world  better  than  you  found  it." 

In  person,  Mr.  Snow  was  small  of  stature ;  always  dressing  with  small  clothes, 
white  stockings,  high  boots  and  a  broad  brimmed  hat,  with  a  pretty  long  cue  hang- 
ing from  under  it ;  and  retained  until  his  death,  the  costume  and  the  fashions,  which 
prevailed  in  his  earlier  manhood.  He  never  spoke  haughtily  of,  or  to,  any  one  ;  his 
piety  overcame  sorrow.  He  abounded  in  lively  anecdote  on  ordinary  occasions,  or  tales 
of  deep  pathos,  when  serious  subjects  were  discussed,  and  was  always  listened  to  with 
respect  and  interest  by  old  and  young. 

We  are  indebted  for  the  facts  here  stated  to  a  carefully  prepared  manuscript 
memoir  of  Mr.  Snow,  prepared  by  his  intimate  and  devoted  friend,  the  late  Gen. 
Robert  Nichols,  who  characterizes  him  as  "  the  best  man  that  fortune,  in  half  a 
century,  has  favored  me  with  the  knowledge  of." 

John  Murphy,  or  John  Garrison  Murphy  (as  he  wrote  his  name  during  the  latter 
part  of  his  life),  was  born  at  Middletown,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1783.  His  father,  Timothy,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  educated  as  a 
physician,  and  from  whence  he  emigrated  to  America  in  the  year  1766.  Settling 
down  in  Monmouth  Co.,  he  became  a  farmer,  and  married  Mary  Garrison,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Richard  Hartshorne,  of  Middletown,  for  several  years  a  member  of  the 
council,  and  a  representative  of  the  assembly  of  that  province  ;  and  who,  also,  owned 
a  large  plantation  adjoining  to  and  including  Sandy  Hook.  Upon  the  out-break  of 
the  American  revolution,  Mr.  Timothy  Murphy  espoused  the  cause  of  his  adopted 

1  When  the  corner  stone  of  the  Apprentices'1  Library  building  was  laid  by  Gen.  Lafayette,  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1825,  all  of  the  children  of  the  town  were  assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony.  Mr. 
Snow  being  the  president  of  the  association,  was  requested  to  say  a  few  words  to  the  multitude. 
He  mounted  the  platform,  and  instead  of  launching  out  into  a  laudation  of  the  warrior  and  patriot — 
with  merely  a  few  appropriate  words  to  the  distinguished  guest,  he  turned,  in  his  usual  mild  manner 
to  the  children,  and  told  them  always  to  rely  upon  the  benevolence  of  God  and  on  his  provident  care 
of  innocence  and  virtue,  illustrating  it,  so  powerfully,  by  a  graphic  relation  of  the  escape  of  a 
mother  and  children  from  the  Indians  in  the  early  settlement  of  our  country,  that  there  was 
scarcely  a  dry  eye  among  his  hearers,  or  a  heart  that  did  not  feel  its  influence.  Again,  when  the 
military  marched  off  the  grounds  with  their  bands  of  music,  and  the  citizens  with  loud  hurrahs  ac- 
companied Lafayette  to  the  ferry,  Mr,  Snow  conducted  the  children  to  the  Methodist  church,  where 
the  citizens  joined  them,  and  he  again  addressed  them. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  25 

lyn,  all  who  are  advocates  for  decency  and  order,  and  all  who  are 
friends  to  the   promulgation   of  the  fundamental  truths  of  our 

country,  and  served  in  the  ranks  of  her  defenders,  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  and 
elsewhere.  He  left  eight  children,  four  of  whom  were  sons.  John  GabrisoN 
Murphy,  the  second  of  these  sons,  and  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  enjoyed  the  ordinary 
educational  advantages  attainable  by  farmers'  boys  at  that  day  ;  was  bred  to  the 
trade  of  a  mill-wright ;  married  Clarissa  Runyon,  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and,  about 
1808,  removed  to  Brooklyn.  Here  his  industry  and  marked  mechanical  genius 
enabled  him  to  establish  a  good  business,  and  ultimately  to  secure  a  comfortable 
property.  As  a  mill-wright  he  was  concerned  in  the  construction  or  repairs  of 
nearly  all  of  the  old  tide  mills  which  then  existed  in  Brooklyn  ;  and  in  conj  unction 
with  Mr.  Rodman  Bowne,  he  invented  and  patented  the  machinery  of  the  horse  or 
"  team-boats,"  which  were  used  to  cross  the  East  river  at  the  ferries  (first  at  the 
Catherine  or  New  Ferry)  before  the  full  introduction  of  steam.  He  built  all  the 
machinery  not  only  for  the  horse-boats  on  the  Brooklyn  ferries,  but  for  many  other 
places  throughout  the  United  States,  even  to  the  Mississippi  river,  and  the  Canadas. 
Mr.  Murphy  possessed  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens,  whom  he  served  for 
many  years  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  a  judge  of  the  municipal  court,  and  school  commis- 
sioner. In  politics,  he  was  a  thorough  Jeffersonian  democrat ;  and  few  men  possessed 
more  influence  in  the  councils  of  that  party  in  Kings  Co.  In  religious  matters  he  was 
like  his  father,  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  denomination.  He  was  a  tall,  fine 
looking  man,  and  possessed  much  prudence,  reticence,  and  self-reliance  of  character. 

He  died  on  the  11th  of  February,  1853,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  leaving 
four  daughters,  and  two  sens,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  our  distinguished  fellow  citizen, 
the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy. 

Andrew  Mercein  was  of  Swiss  descent,  his  parents  having  come  to  America 
from  Geneva,  in  1756,  and  settled,  like  many  other  Huguenot  families,  at  New 
Rochelle,  where  he  was  born  in  1763.  Soon  after  his  birth,  the  family  removed  to 
New  York  city,  and  his  father  having  gone  to  New  Orleans,  with  a  view  of  ulti- 
mately establishing  their  home  there,  was  never  heard  from  thereafter.  Young 
Andrew,  who  was  but  a  boy  at  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war,  was  at 
the  age  of  sixteen,  impressed  on  board  a  British  man  of  war,  then  lying  in  the 
Hudson  river.  Determined  not  to  fight  against  his  country,  he  seized  an  opportunity, 
one  dark  night,  to  escape  ;  and  stripping  himself,  and  tying  his  clothes  on  his  back, 
he  dropped  into  the  water  and  swam  towards  the  shore.  His  escape  was  quickly 
discovered,  and  many  shots  were  fired  at  hirn,  which  fortunately  missed  him,  and 
he  reached  the  shore  in  safety.  During  the  war,  young  Mercein  was  apprentice  to  a 
baker,  who  supplied  bread  to  the  army,  and  used  to  state,  in  after  years,  that  for  a 
considerable  time  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  that  article ;  that  when  the  Cork 
provision  fleet,  on  one  occasion,  overstayed  its  time,  he  dealt  out  sixpenny  loaves  as 
fast  as  he  could  for  a  hard  half  dollar  apiece.  The  bakers  at  that  time  gave  twenty 
dollars  a  hundred  weight  for  flour,  and  they  were  obliged  to  make  oatmeal  bread  for 
the  navy.  Often,  he  saw  the  people  pay  seven  shillings  the  pound  for  butter,  which 
before  the  war  had  been  only  two  shillings  per  pound.  He  witnessed,  also,  the 
evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  British. 
4 


26  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

common  religion,  are  invited  to  attend."  The  object  of  this 
meeting  was  stated  to  be  the  organization  of  a  society  in  the  village 
on  a  plan  similar  to  that  then  recently  adopted  by  the  Sunday 
School  Union  Society  in  New  York;  and  the  object  of  the  society 
was  further  stated  to  be  the  establishment  of  a  school,  "  in  which 
children  or  adults  or  both,  as  the  circumstances  may  be,  shall  be 
taught  gratuitously,  on  the  sabbath  day,  to  read  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures and  shall  receive  other  religious  instruction;  to  devise  the 
best  methods  of  teaching ;  and  to  unite  the  Christian  feelings,  the 
counsels  and  the  labors  of  persons  of  different  religious  denomina- 
tions in  this  benevolent  undertaking." 

In  1786,  Mr.  Mercein  was  converted  under  the  powerful  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
J.  H.  Livingston  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church,  but,  through  the  influence  of  some 
friends,  was  induced  to  attend  services  at  the  "  Old  John  street "  Methodist  church, 
in  New  York  city,  and  finally  cast  in  his  lot  with  that  denomination,  of  which  he 
was  ever  after  a  consistent,  useful  and  honored  member.  The  records  of  the  John 
street  church,  show  that  he  was  a  most  useful  officer,  a  trustee  for  many  years ; 
and,  "though  a  conscientious  Methodist,"  he  was  of  that  truly  catholic  spirit,  which 
saith,  "  Grace  be  with  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity."  He  was 
identified  with  the  erection  of  the  Forsyth  street,  Duane  street,  and  Bowery  village 
Methodist  churches,  and  was  for  fifty-two  years  a  most  efficient  class  leader,  meeting 
his  class,  regularly,  until  the  last  week  of  his  life.  For  many  years  Mr.  Mercein 
carried  on  the  business  of  a  hard  bread,  or  cracker  baker,  at  No.  93  Gold  street,  and 
acquired  a  handsome  competence.  His  private  life  was  an  example  of  meekness, 
gentleness,  humility  and  benevolence,  and,  like  his  master,  he  went  about  doing 
good.  During  the  terrible  "  yellow  fever  "  season  of  1798,  he  was  untiring  in  his 
personal  exertions  and  charities  among  the  sick,  the  dying,  and  the  afflicted 
survivors.  Early  in  the  present  century  (about  1805),  he  retired  from  business,  and 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  where,  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  his  influence  and 
labors  were  steadily,  yet  unobtrusively,  exerted  in  behalf  of  religion,  education, 
morality,  and  everything  which  could  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  community. 
An  honored  member  of  the  Sands  street  Methodist  church,  he  was  instrumental, 
with  his  friend  Snow  and  others,  in  originating  the  Sabbath  School,  the  Public 
Schools,  etc.,  and  was  one  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  named  in  the  act  of  village 
incorporation  in  1816. 

"Father  Mercein,"  as  he  was  generally  called,  died  in  peace,  and  in  full  assurance 
of  a  glorious  immortality,  June  29th,  1835,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Sands  street  burying  ground.  (For  some  of  these  facts  we 
are  indebted  to  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley's  Lost  diapters  of  Methodism,  558-561.) 

Mr.  Joseph  G.  Harrison  married  an  adopted  daughter  of  Mr.  Snow. 

Joseph  Herbert  was  a  shoemaker,  a  man  of  fervent  piety  and  great  benevolence, 
who  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  labored  till  the  last  in  the  Sabbath  School,  of 
which  he  had  been  a  founder. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  27 

The  "Brooklyn  Sunday  School  Union  Society,"  which  was  organ- 
ized pursuant  to  the  above  call,  adopted,  on  the  8th  of  April,  a 
constitution,  and  (subsequently)  a  code  of  rules,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  /Star,1  and  were  issued  by  Joshua  Sands,  president; 
Andrew  Merceinand  Abraham  Remsen,  vice-presidents  ;  Thomas 
Sands,  treasurer;  Rev.  John  Ireland,  secretary;  William  Corn- 
well,  Robert  Bache,  David  Anderson,  Jonathan  G.  Pray,  Joseph 
Harris,  Robert  Snow,  and  Alexander  Young. 

The  school,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  held  in  Thomas  Kirk's 
printing  office,  a  long,  narrow,  two-story  frame  edifice,  on  the 
westerly  side  of  Adams  street,  between  High  and  Sands,  but  it 
was  now  removed  to  the  school  building  of  District  School,  No.  1, 
on  the  corner  of  Concord  and  Adams  streets,  and  Mr.  Joseph 
Herbert  succeeded  Mr.  Snow  as  superintendent.2  At  this  point 
in  the  history  of  the  Sabbath  School  enterprise  in  Brooklyn, 
considerable  obscurity  gathers  around  the  pen  of  the  historian  : 
records  are  wanting ;  newspapers  furnish  but  scanty  memoranda ; 
those  who  could  best  have  aided  our  researches  have  passed  away ; 
and  the  memories  of  the  few  old  Brooklynites  who  still  linger 
among  us  fail  to  retain  with  sufficient  clearness  the  facts  which 
we  are  anxious  to  secure  from  oblivion.  As  nearly  as  we  can 
ascertain,  the  school,  under  the  union  arrangement,  continued  for 
a  short  time  (probably  through  the  summer  of  1817),  until  from 
the  want  of  teachers,  and  owing  to  the  opposition  encountered, 
its  operations  were  suspended  for  several  months.3 

In  the  spring  of  1818,  however,  the  Episcopalians  commenced 
a  Sunday  School  of  their  own,  which,  with  but  temporary  inter- 
ruptions, has  continued  to  the  present  day.4 

1  Star,  issues  of  April  8th,  and  17th,  1816. 

2  James  Engles ;  Samuel  James ;  William  Wallace  ;  Mary  Ann  McGee  ;  Richard 
Cornwell  and  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  James  Herbert ;  John  Dikeman,  and  his  wife 
Susan  Remsen,  were  among  the  teachers  of  this  school. 

3  Strange  as  it  may  seem  at  the  present  day  it  is  yet  true  that  those  engaged  in  its 
management  had  to  contend  not  only  with  the  difficulties  generally  attending  new 
enterprises,  but  with  the  strenuous  opposition  of  some  even  who  were  church  mem- 
bers and  who  regarded  the  undertaking  as  a  desecration  of  the  sabbath. 

4  This  we  learn  from  an  aged  member  of  that  church,  Mrs.  Mary  Pettit  (widow  of 
Robert  Pettit,  deceased)  of  Brooklyn  ;  who,  with  her  husband,  was  a  teacher  in  the 


28  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

As  far  as  the  other  denominations  were  concerned,  the  Sunday 
School  enterprise  seems  to  have  laid  dormant ;  until,  about  July, 
1821,  "  an  advertisement  appeared  in  a  New  York  newspaper 
intimating  the  intention  of  some  members  of  the  Baptist  church 
in  that  city,  to  commence  a  Sabbath  School  in  Brooklyn,  and 
appointing  the  hour  on  a  certain  sabbath  when  the  school  would 
be  opened.  This  announcement  aroused  the  spirit  of  the  friends 
of  the  cause  in  this  city,  who  not  being  willing  to  look  idly  on 
while  others  from  abroad  were  superseding  them  in  this  field  of 
labor,  resolved  to  put  forth  a  new  effort.  The  original  veterans, 
Messrs.  Snow,  Mericen  and  Herbert,  together  with  Mr.  Ezra  C. 
Woodhull  (Presbyterian);  Mr.  Adam  Dodge  (Baptist);  Mr. 
Abraham  Vanderveer  (a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church), 
reopened  the  school  (on  the  same  Sunday  morning  as  advertised 
in  the  newspaper  before  referred  to)  in  the  district  school-house, 
on  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Concord  streets." 

It  may  be  stated,  also,  in  this  connection,  that  in  these  early 
village  days,  the  gathering  together  of  boys,  on  the  sabbath,  in 
and  around  the  ropewalks  then  so  numerous  in  Brooklyn,  and  the 
card  playing,  profanity  and  other  vices  which  they  there  indulged 

school  at  its  commencement.  The  Star  of  May  20th,  1818,  contains  an  advertisement 
of  the  trustees  of  District  School  No.  1,  calling  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  residing 
in  the  district,  at  Thomas  Langdon's,  on  the  22d  following ;  in  which  advertisement 
it  is  stated  that  "the  purpose  of  the  proposed  meeting  is  to  take  the  sense  of  the  in- 
habitants, interested  in  the  school-house,  whether  it  would  be  proper  to  allow  the 
use  of  said  house,  or  any  part  of  it,  for  the  Sunday  School  at  present  in  operation  in 
the  village,  as  the  Trustees  have  refused  it  on  the  ground  of  the  school  being  ex- 
clusively Episcopal." 

The  Episcopal  Sabbath  School  was  formed  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev. 
Hugh  Smith,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's,  and  with  the  Rev.  James  P.  F.  Clark  as  superin- 
tendent. Among  its  teachers  were  John  Green,  Mary  Green,  Robert  J.  Pettit  and  Mary 
(Cole)  his  wife,  Jane  and  Grace  Cornell,  Sarah  Stewart  who  afterwards  married 
Cornelius  Stanton  ;  and  among  the  warmest  friends  of  the  school  were  Mrs.  Ann  Sands, 
the  Rev.  John  Ireland,  etc.  The  school  was  discontinued  during  the  winter  fol- 
lowing, "  in  consequence  of  the  many  inconveniences  attending  the  instruction  of 
the  children  during  the  winter  season,"  the  school-house  being  too  far  from  the 
church  and  "  many  of  the  scholars  thinly  clad."  It  had  at  this  time  eighty-seven  regu- 
lar scholars,  and  was  opened  again  in  March,  1819.  In  April,  1820,  it  was  again  open 
at  District  School  building  No.  1.  Its  subsequent  career  may  be  traced  in  Fish's 
admirable  History  of  St.  Ann's  Church. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  99 

in,  had  become  a  most  serious  nuisance  to  the  better  portion  of 
the  community.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  so  fearful  a  source 
of  demoralization  to  the  youth  of  the  place  as  to  invoke  the  inter- 
ference of  the  constables  and  the  constituted  authorities,  should 
call  the  attention  of  all  good  citizens  to  the  Sunday  School  as 
the  means  of  inducing  the  boys  to  spend  the  sabbath  in  a  manner 
more  conducive  to  their  good,  and  to  the  quiet  and  comfort  of  the 
village. 

The  village  was  districted  into  four  parts,  each  being  thoroughly 
visited,  and  both  the  boys  and  their  parents  were  invited  to  be 
present,  on  the  following  sabbath,  at  the  District  School-house 
before  mentioned.  On  the  appointed  day,  some  ninety  children 
were  there  assembled,  and  (in  addition  to  those  beforementioned) 
the  Rev.  Selah  S.  Woodhull,  pastor  of  the  Dutch  church,  was 
present,  and  addressed  the  children.  During  the  following  week 
these  parties  visited  around  the  village,  renewing  invitations  to 
parents,  guardians  and  children,  and  soliciting  subscriptions  for 
the  purchase  of  books  and  a  proper  book-case. 

By  a  union  of  the  Dutch  Reformed,  Presbyterian,  and  Method- 
ist churches,  a  goodly  number  of  children  were  brought  together, 
and  these  churches  united,  accomplished  what  neither  alone  could 
perform.  Among  the  happy  results  immediately  following  the 
labors  of  those  thus  engaged,  was  the  unanimity,  harmony  and 
good  feeling  which  prevailed  between  the  churches  united  in  this 
enterprise.  It  was  the  custom  for  the  children  to  attend  the 
churches  of  their  parents'  choice ;  and,  there  being  at  that  time 
no  Presbyterian  churches  in  Brooklyn,  clergymen  of  that  persua- 
sion, from  New  York,  frequently  preached  in  the  Sabbath  School- 
room, and  this  led  to  the  formation,  in  February,  1822,  of  the 
first  Presbyterian  Society  here."  l 

As  the  prosperity  of  the  school  increased,  however,  its  original 
accommodations  became  too  restricted ;  and  it  was  finally  agreed 
that  each  congregation  should  have  its  own  school.  The  school 
was,  therefore,  resolved  into  its  original  elements,  the  Methodists 
occupying  a  building  in  Prospect  street  (Nos.  33  and  35)    near 

1  See  Appendix  1. 


30  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Adams ;  where,  under  the  supervision  of  Messrs.  Snow,  Mercein, 
Herbert,  Moser,  and  others,  it  flourished  exceedingly ;  and  the 
other  denominations  going  to  their  respective  churches. 

May.  Various  ordinances  of  the  village  trustees  begin  to 
appear  in  the  newspaper  (The  Star,)  against  the  firing  of  guns, 
crackers,  etc.,  in  the  village ;  the  obstruction  of  streets  by  heavy 
merchandise ;  the  building  of  fires,  or  cutting  up  of  sod  or  grass 
in  the  streets ;  the  selling  of  liquor,  or  the  keeping  of  taverns 
without  proper  license,  etc.,  etc. ;  also,  for  the  due  observance  of 
the  sabbath. 

June  27th.  The  board  of  trustees  formally  adopted  a  corporate 
seal  for  the  village,  designed  by  Mr.  John  Garrison.  The  design 
was  exceedingly  simple,  being  a  star,  surrounded  with  the  words 
"  Corporation  of  Brooklyn." 

July.  During  this  month,  Messrs.  C.  Rumley  &  Co.,  from  Eng- 
land, established  in  Brooklyn,  a  manufactory  of  japanned  leather 
hats,  horseman's  and  artillery  caps,  hammer  cloths,  etc.  Mr. 
Rumley  was  the  inventor  of  a  process  of  making  hats  out  of  a 
single  piece  of  leather,  without  seam. 

August  26th.  An  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  trustees  "  for 
establishing  the  assize  and  regulating  the  inspection  of  bread  in 
the  village  of  Brooklyn,"  and,  also,  an  ordinance  "  to  prevent 
the  firing  at  a  mark,  or  target  within  the  village,"  under  the 
penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  member,  and  twenty-five  dollars 
for  the  captain  of  any  military  company  offending.  m  The  reason 
for  this  regulation  is  given  in  the  preamble  :  "  The  practice  which 
now  prevails,  of  firing  or  shooting  at  a  target  within  the  precincts 
of  this  village,  by  volunteer  corps  from  the  city  of  New  York,  or 
elsewhere,  has  become  extremely  dangerous  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  same,  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  usually  selected  for 
the  purpose  aforesaid,  exposing  them  to  imminent  danger  of  their 
lives,  from  the  direction  of  the  fire,  whereby  musket  balls  are 
frequently  discharged  among  inhabited  dwellings  and  over  the 
most  public  road  of  the  village." 

A  favorite  resort  for  this  target  practice  was  in  the  trenches  of 
the  "  Old  Fort"  on  the  heights  (See  note,  p.  315,  vol.  i),  which 
afforded  an  excellent  sheltered  place  for  the  purpose,  but  occasion- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  31 

ally  a  ball  would  go  astray,  and  across  the  old  road,  now  Fulton 
street. 

September.  David  Anderson  was  appointed  inspector  of  the 
village  sidewalks  by  the  trustees,  who  during  the  preceding 
month  had  ordered  the  construction  of  gravel  sidewalks,  with 
curbstones  in  "Old  Ferry"  and  " New  Ferry,"  (now  Fulton  and 
Main)  streets.  A  tax  of  three  hundred  dollars  was  also  imposed 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  village,  for  the  benefit  of  the  fire 
department. 

October.  The  trustees  ordered  sign-boards  to  be  placed  at 
the  corners  of  Main  (New-Ferry),  Washington,  Sands,  Nassau, 
Concord,  Pearl,  Adams,  Hicks,  Jay,  Tierrepont,  York  and  Mid- 
dagh  streets. 

John  Marshall  was  also  appointed  master  chimney  sweep  of  the 
village. 

November.  John  Applegate  was  appointed  by  the  board  of 
trustees,  to  take  up  all  hogs  running  at  large  in  the  streets,  in 
compliance  with  a  special  ordinance  of  the  previous  September. 

December  18.  The  village  trustees  gave  public  notice  of  their 
intention  to  apply  to  the  legislature  of  the  state,  at  its  next 
session,  "  for  an  act  to  explain  and  more  accurately  define  the 
powers  vested  in  the  said  trustees,  by  the  act  entitled,  an  act  to 
incorporate  and  vest  certain  poioers  in  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
the  village  of  Brooklyn,  in  the  county  of  Kings,  passed  April  12, 
1816."  The  trustees  also  framed  an  amendatory  act,  containing 
twelve  sections,  and  comprising  mainly  the  two  following  pro- 
positions :  1st.  A  virtual  request  that  no  inhabitant  who  was  not 
a  freeholder  should  have  a  vote  in  raising  taxes.1  2d.  That  in 
case  of  any  vacancy  in  the  board  of  trustees,  or  assessors,  etc., 
the  trustees  might  have  the  power  to  fill  such  vacancies  without 
resorting  to  the  people  for  a  new  election. 

JBy  the  act  of  incorporation  freeholders  and  inJiabitants,  as  well  as  freeholders, 
were  entitled  to  vote  on  such  occasions.  The  amendment  proposed  by  the  trustees, 
was  that  "  no  tax  shall  be  levied  or  money  raised,  assessed  or  collected  for  erecting 
public  buildings,  nor  any  purchase  or  sale  of  any  real  estate  made,  nor  any  public 
buildings  erected  or  disposed  of,  without  the  consent  of  the  freeholder's  of  said  village, 
or  the  major  part  thereof  in  open  meeting  first  obtained." 


32  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Justly  indignant  at  such  an  invasion  of  their  rights,  the  inhabit- 
ants held  a  very  large  and  respectable  meeting,  on  the  19th  of 
February  following,  at  which  Judge  William  Furman,  was 
appointed  chairman,  and  Samuel  S.  Bird  sail,  secretary.  They 
then  and  there  resolved  that  they  wholly  disapproved  of  the  pro- 
posed amendments  to  their  present  act  of  incorporation,  and 
appointed  a  committee  of  five  persons,  viz :  William  Furman, 
Henry  Stanton,  James  B.  Clarke,  Esq.,  Noah  Waterbury  and 
Samuel  S.  Birdsall,  to  draw  up  a  remonstrance  to  the  legislature, 
against  the  proposed  amendments.  This  remonstrance  was  signed 
by  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabit- 
ants of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  and  forwarded  to  Albany  through 
the  medium  of  William  Furman,  Esq.,  who  was  sent  there  as  an 
agent  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  proposed  amendments  into  a 
law.  It  was  presented  to  the  house  of  assembly  on  the  1st  of 
March,  1817,  by  Peter  Sharpe,  Esq.,  from  New  York  (Kings  Co., 
having  at  that  time  no  representative  in  the  legislature)  and  was 
referred  by  the  house  to  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Sharpe  was 
chairman.  The  remonstrance  was  considered  so  strong  that 
nothing  more  was  heard  of  the  proposed  amendment. 

It  was  in  this  month,  also,  that  the  celebrated  suit  was  insti- 
tuted before  Justice  Mchols,  by  the  village  trustees,  against  Jacob 
Patchen  for  refusing  to  relay  the  pavement  in  front  of  his  house 
in  Old  Ferry  street  —  result,  a  fine  of  $5  and  costs,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  an  animosity,  on  the  part  of  the  defendant  against 
the  constituted  authorities,  which  finally  resulted  in  a  litigation 
prolonged  through  many  years,  and  forming,  as  will  be  seen  in 
another  portion  of  this  volume,  a  most  amusing  chapter  of  Brook-  ■ 
lyn  history. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  33 


CHAPTER  II. 


BROOKLYN,  SIXTY  YEARS  AGO. 


Before  proceeding  to  trace  the  history  of  the  new  village,  it 
seems  desirable  to  present  our  readers,  as  far  as  can  be  done  by 
the  aid  of  pen  and  pencil,  with  a  view  of  Brooklyn  as  it  appeared 
about  1816;  and,  with  but  little  alteration,  for  about  fifteen  years 
ensuing.  If,  in  so  doing,  we  seem  to  indulge  too  much  in  minor 
details,  we  can  only  plead  that  these  minutiae  are  indispensable  to 
a  proper  understanding  of  what  we  propose.  We  are  writing  not 
for  ourselves  and  our  contemporaries  only,  but  for  those  who  are 
to  come  after  us  and  to  whom  these  matters  may  be,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  unattainable  except  through  our  pages  ;  "  Pos- 
terity" it  has  been  said,  "  delights  in  details  "  and  to  many  of  our 
readers  themselves,  if  they  should  live  to  "  a  good  old  age,"  years 
will  bring  a  truer  appreciation  of  the  value  of  many  of  these  little 
points  which  are  now  unheeded  in  the  rush  and  bustle  of  the 
active  present.  If,  therefore,  any  one  chooses  to  "  skip  "  this 
chapter  as  "  stupid,"  we  shall  content  ourselves  with  the  (in  no- 
wise improbable)  prediction  that,  at  some  future  day,  it  may  prove 
to  be  even  to  them,  the  most  interesting  portion  of  the  volume.1 

• 

1  yot  being '*  to  the  manor  born,*'  and  having  lived  in  Brooklyn  only  since  July, 
1856;  we  do  not  pretend  to  impose  this  chapter  upon  our  readers  as  our  "  personal 
recollections."  It  is,  in  fact,  the  result  of  long  and  careful  study,  in  which  we  have 
been  largely  aided  by  the  manuscript  notes  of  Brooklyn's  first  historian,  Gabriel 
Furman,  who  had  a  singularly  rare  appreciation  of  those  things  most  valuable  in  a 
local  history  ;  by  the  reminiscences,  both  oral  and  in  manuscripts  of  Nathaniel  F. 
Waring,  Esq.,  upon  whose  memory  the  events  of  the  past  seem  to  be  photographed 
with  peculiar  tenacity  and  clearness  ;  and  by  numerous  conversations  with,  and  ex- 
aminations of  maps,  etc.,  belonging  to  Mr.  H.  E.  Pierrepont  and  Mr.  Sila>  Ludlam. 
To  these  gentlemen,  as  well  as  other  panics  (ladies  included)  whom  we  have  con- 
sulted in  the  preparation  of  this  chapter,  we  return  our  thanks  for  their  kind  further- 
ance, in  every  possible  way,  of  our  difficult  and  somewhat  presumptuous  attempt  to 
effect  this  restoration  of  "  Brooklyn  in  the  Olden  Time." 
5 


34  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Brooklyn,  as  seen  from  the  New  York  side  of  the  river,  during 
the  first  third  of  the  present  century,  presented  features  of  simple 
rural  beauty,  strongly  in  contrast  with  its  present  imposing  aspect. 
Around  the  "  Old  (now  Fulton)  Ferry,"  there  was  a  clustering  of 
houses,  taverns,  stables  and  shanties,  which  had  grown  up  since 
the  earliest  establishment  of  a  ferry  at  that  point,  and  which 
formed  the  nucleus  of  a  considerable  business  activity.  From 
the  ferry-slip  (with  its  horse-boat,  its  one  steamboat  and  its  row- 
boat  accommodations;  but,  with  no  such  accommodation  as  the 
present  ferry-house  affords,  and  with  no  bell  save  the  resonant 
throat  of  the  ferryman),  the  old  country  road,  the  "  king's  highway  " 
of  the  colonial  and  revolutionary  periods,  straggled  crookedly 
upward  and  backward,  out  past  the  old  Dutch  church,  out  through 
Bedford  Corners,  and  away  beyond  Jamaica,  even  to  Montauk 
Point;  being,  in  fact,  the  great  highway  of  travel  of  Long  Island 
itself.  As  far  as  the  junction  of  this  old  road  (now  Fulton  street), 
with  the  new  road  (now  Main  street),  which  came  up  from  the 
"  New  Ferry  "  (as  it  was  even  then  called,  although  it  had  been 
established  some  twenty  years),  it  was  tolerably  well  1  ined  with  build- 
ings of  various  shapes  and  sizes.  Pert  looking  Yankee  frame 
edifices  rudely  intruded  their  angularities  among  the  humpbacked 
Dutch  houses  quaintly  built  of  stone,  or  with  small  imported 
Holland  bricks.  Yet  one  and  all  wore  such  an  unpretentious 
and  neighborly  look,  under  the  brooding  shadows  of  the  noble 
trees,  with  which  the  village  abounded,  that  it  was  plainly  evident, 
even  to  the  most  casual  observer,  that  no  premonition  of  the 
future  greatness,  so  soon  to  be  thrust  upon  them,  had  as  yet  dis- 
turbed the  minds  of  their  occupants. 

Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  left  of  the  "  Old  Ferry  " 
was  the  "New  Ferry,"  to  Catherine  street,  New  York,  aud  the 
road  (or  present  Main  street),  which  led  from  it  up  the  hill  till  it 
met  the  "  Old  Ferry  road"  (now  Fulton  street),  was  beginning  to 
show  a  respectable  number  of  frame  buildings;  all,  however,  of 
comparatively  recent  origin.  Beyond  this  ferry  and  street,  the 
land  stretched  northwardly  (broken  by  McKenzie's,  Vinegar, 
and  other  considerable  hills),  to  the  verge  of  the  Wallabout  bay, 
where  John  Jackson  had  a  ship-yard,  and  eight  or  ten  houses  for 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  35 

workmen.  Adjacent  to  this  was  the  infant  United  States  Navy 
Yard  (established  in  1801);  while  beyond,  along  the  curving 
shore  of  the  bay,  were  the  farms  of  the  Johnsons,  Schenckes, 
Remsens,  Boerums,  and  others. 

On  the  right  of  the  Old  Ferry,  and  with  an  abruptness  which, 
even  at  this  day,  is  scarce  concealed  by  the  streets  and  buildings 
covering  it,  rose  the  northernmost  corner,  or  edge  of  that  portion 
of  the  present  city  known  as  "  The  Heights,"  stretching  south- 
wardly to  near  the  foot  of  the  present  Joralemon  street.  The 
face  and  brow  of  this  noble  bluff  were  covered  with  a  beautiful 
growth  of  cedar  and  locust,  while  its  base  was  constantly  washed 
by  the  waves  of  the  East  river.  From  its  summit,  the  land 
stretched  away,  in  orchards,  gardens  and  pasture,  out  to  the  old 
highway  (Fulton  street).  The  red  men,  who  first  roamed  over 
this  spot,  named  it  in  their  expressive  language  "Ihpetonga,"  or 
"  the  high  sandy  bank,"  and  it  must  have  been  a  favorite  place 
of  resort  with  them,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  large  quanti- 
ties of  stone  arrows  and  other  implements,  in  every  stage  of 
manufacture,  which  used  formerly  to  be  found  here  after  the 
washing  of  the  river  banks  by  storms,  or  heavy  rains.  To  the 
early  villagers,  it  was  known  as  "  Clover  Hill "  and  its  owners,1 
at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  Messrs.  Cary  Ludlow,  the  Hickses, 
Waring,  Kimberly,  Middagh,  De  Bevoises,  Pierrepont  and  Jorale- 
mon, resided  upon  their  respective  farms  in  a  state  of  semi-seclu- 
sion, almost  prophetic  of  that  social  aristocracy,  which  has  since 
claimed  "The  Heights"  as  exclusively  its  own.  Yet,  in  the 
memory  of  some  yet  living  among  us,  the  brown  freestone  glories 
of  these  latter  days  can  never  eclipse  the  simpler  natural  beauties 
of  the  "  Clover  Hill "  of  their  boyhood.  From  this  elevated 
plateau,  the  eye  rested  upon  a  panoramic  scene  of  unsurpassed 
beauty ;  the  city  of  New  York,  with  its  glorious  bay ;   Staten 

lrnie  owners  of  water  front  between  Red  Hook  and  the  Wallabout,  in  1810,  ware 
John  Doughty,  David  Seaman,  Tunis  Joralemon,  Ralph  Patchen,  Samuel  Jackson, 
Thos.  Everit,  Geo.  Hicks,  W.  Thompson,  Gideon  Kimberly,  Joel  Buncc,  John 
Garrison,  W.  Cornell,  Hicks  Bro's,  Joshua  Sands,  John  Cornell,  Fernandas  Suydam, 
H.  B.  Pierrepont,  J.  &  R.  De  Bevoise,  James  Thompson,  John  Jackson,  Henry 
Remsen  and  Cary  Ludlow. 


36  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Island,  with  the  numerous  lesser  islands  studding  the  bosom  of 
the  harbor ;  the  Jersey  shore,  with  the  Orange  mountains  in  the 
background ;  further  to  the  southward  was  Red  Hook  with  its 
old  mills;  the  scattered  farm-houses  nestled  around  the  bay; 
Yellow  Hook,  and  the  forest  slopes  of  Greenwood. 

Such  then,  was  the  external  view  of  the  village  and  town  of 
Brooklyn  which  the  reader  might  have  obtained  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord,  1815.  And,  if  this  "birds-eye  view"  should,  per- 
chance, only  serve  to  whet  the  edge  of  that  curiosity  which  we 
trust  each  of  our  readers  possesses  concerning  the  city  of  his 
residence;  we  shall  be  happy  to  cicerone  him,  to  the  best  of  our 
ability,  in  a  more  leisurely  and  minute  inspection  of  those  localities 
which  have  long  since  lost  their  identity  by  reason  of  the  many 
metamorphoses  incident  to  the  expansion  of  the  modern  city. 
This  we  can  best  accomplish  in  a  series  of  imaginary  walks  or 
excursions  through  the  town,  as  well  as  the  incorporated  village. 

The  Village. 

Our  first  walk  will  be  along  the  old  highway  (now  Fulton  street) 
as  far  as  the  present  City  Hall. 

We  commence,  of  course,  at  the  "  Old  Ferry  "  landing,  which 
(as  seen  by  reference  to  "  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry,"  page  311, 
first  volume)  was  then  situated  much  farther  inland  and  somewhat 
to  the  southward  of  the  present  lower  ferry-slip.  On  one  side 
of  the  dock  (Map  a,  3)  were  steps  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
wherry,  or  row-boat  passengers;  while,  on  the  other,  or  upper 
side,  the  larger  boats  or  scows  landed  their  freight,  and  after  the 
steam-boat  was  placed  on  the  ferry,  it  was  known  as  the  "  steam- 
boat slip." 

Some  fifty  or  sixty  feet  from  the  slip  was  a  flag-staff,  or  liberty 
pole,  of  which  Burdet  Stryker,  the  butcher,  who  occupied  a  stand 
in  the  neighboring  market  building,  was  the  acknowledged  cus- 
todian, "  and,"  says  Col.  De  Voe  {Historical  Magazine,  second 
series,  n,  346),  "  on  all  proper  occasions  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
flung  to  the  breeze,  in  a  most  ceremonious  style.  While  the 
liberty  pole  existed,  the  town  and  village  were  satisfied  that  he 
should  remain  its  custodian.     In  the  course  of  time,  the  old  or 


MAP  OF  THE  OLD  FERRY  DISTRICT  OF  THE  VILLAGE,  IN  1816. 
(The  dotted  lines  designate  old  roads,  lots  and  estates.    Figure  1,  the  Ludlow  Estate  :  Fig.  2,  the 
icks  Estate ;  Fig.  3,  the  Middagh  Estate.    The  smaller  figures  are  referred  to  in  the  text.  | 


Hicks 


38  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

first  liberty  pole  became  much  decayed,  and  it  was  thought 
dangerous,  when  Stryker  appealed  to  the  Brooklynites  to  have  it 
replaced  with  a  new  one.  Many  responded  very  liberally ;  yet 
there  was  a  deficiency,  or  not  enough  collected  to  obtain  such  an 
one  as  would  be  a  credit  to  the  village.  There  were  many  resi- 
dents who  belonged  to  the  "  Society  of  Friends,"  and  were  opposed 
to  liberty  poles ;  and  they  would  not  subscribe.  However,  Stryker 
thought  that  all  the  patriotism  had  not  left  the  heart  of  his  old 
"  boss,"  Thomas  Everit,  and  he  appealed  to  him.  Friend  Everit 
at  once  told  him  that  he  was  opposed  to  liberty  poles  ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  he  would  give  ten  dollars  to  assist  in  taking  down  the 
old  one.  This,  indeed,  was  a  new  idea,  which  Stryker  afterwards 
advanced  towards  some  others  who  held  the  same  views  as  his  old 
"  boss,"  so  that,  in  the  end,  sufficient  was  furnished  to  save  a 
second  subscription  from  Stryker  and  the  friends  of  the  new 
liberty  pole." 

In  the  middle  of  the  street,  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  east  of  the 
flagstaff,  stood  the  old  market,  a  long,  shabby,  wooden  structure, 
the  head  of  which  was  about  opposite  CarlPs  stables,  near  Eliza- 
beth street.  It  was  slightly  raised  above  the  level  of  the  street, 
had  a  rounding  roof,  and  contained  six  stalls  or  stands,  one  of 
which  is  remembered  to  have  been  occupied  by  Burdet  Stryker, 
another  by  John  Doughty,  another  as  a  fish  stand,  etc.  The 
locality  was  a  sort  of  rendezvous  for  all  the  butchers,  of  whom, 
from  time  immemorial,  there  had  been  a  large  number  resident  in 
Brooklyn.1     Many  of  them  had  their  slaughter  houses  near  by  ; 

xIn  the  year  1645,  Paulus  van  der  Beeck  appears;  in  1654,  Roelef  Jansen  ;  in 
1656,  William  Harck  and  Thomas  Willet ;  in  1660,  Pieter  Jansen ;  in  1707,  James 
Harding  ;  in  1715,  Evardus  Brower ;  in  1720,  the  brothers  Israel  and  Timothy 
Horsfield ;  followed  by  the  sons  of  Israel ;  in  1735,  Samuel  Hopson ;  in  1743,  John 
and  Benjamin  Carpenter  ;  in  1755,  Whitehead  Cornell  and  his  sons,  John,  William, 
Whitehead,  junior,  and  Benjamin;  also  the  brothers  Sedam  or  Suydani ;  in  1756, 
Thomas  Everit  and  his  sons,  William,  Thomas,  junior,  and  Richard  ;  together  with 
Matthew  Gleaves ;  in  1760,  John  Doughty  and  his  son,  John,  junior:  in  1774, 
George  Powers  and  Jotham  Post ;  in  1780,  John  Garrison  and  his  three  sons 
John  F.,  Jacob,  and  Thomas,  together  with  Gersham  Ludlow ;  in  1790,  Burdet 
Stryker  and  his  sons ;  after  whom  came  Abiel  Titus  and  his  sons  ;  David  Seaman, 
Jacob  Patchen,  Ralph  Patchen,  Jesse  Coope,  Israel  Reynolds,  John  Raynor,  William 
Foster,  Michael  Trappel,  and  many  others. —  Devoe. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  39 

and  every  morning  came  down  to  the  ferry  stairs  with  their  wheel- 
barrow loads  of  nicely  dressed  meats,  which  they  trundled  aboard 
the  boats,  barrows  and  all,  and  were  ferried  over  to  the  city  where 
they  had  stands  in  the  "  Fly  Market."  The  old  market,  also,  was 
the  great  resort  of  the  sportive  blacks,  who  formed  no  inconsider- 
able portion  of  the  population  of  Brooklyn,  at  that  early  day. 
They  were  much  employed  by  the  butchers  and  others,  and  were 
fat,  sleek  and  happy  fellows,  generally  on  the  best  of  terms  with 
their  masters  and  "  all  the  world  beside,"  and  full  to  overflowing 
of  the  waggery  and  tricks  for  which  the  Dutch  negroes  have 
always  been  noted.  At  the  market,  also,  these  negroes  celebrated 
their  annual  "  Pinkster  "  holiday,  which  corresponded  to  their 
masters'  "  Paas  "  festival.  "  Paas,"  now  almost  obsolete  and 
kept  in  remembrance  only  by  a  little  childish  egg  cracking, 
occurred  on  Easter  and  Easter  Monday,  and  was  a  "  high  day  " 
among  the  Dutch,  who  feasted  and  rollicked  to  their  heart's  con- 
tent. But,  as  it  was  evidently  impolitic  to  allow  the  negroes  the 
opportunity  of  being  "  elevated "  on  the  same  day  with  their 
masters,  who  were  apt  to  need  their  sober  services  and  attention, 
the  following  Monday  (Whitsuntide)  was  allowed  to  the  slaves 
as  their  especial  festival.  It  was,  indeed,  their  annual  saturnalia, 
The  village  was  fairly  black  with  them;  they  came  trooping  into 
Brooklyn  from  the  island,  men,  women  and  children,  sometimes 
as  many  as  two  hundred.  They  danced  for  eels  around  the 
market;  they  sang;  "tooted"  on  fish  horns;  played  practi- 
cal jokes  on  one  another;  and,  everywhere,  throughout  the 
village,  might  be  heart  the  cackle  of  obstreperous  laughter  by 
which  the  negro  is  wont  to  give  relief  to  his  overplus  of  happiness. 
In  short,  "  Pinkster  "  was  a  scene  of  the  broadest  good  humor — 
where  every  sort  of  common  game  and  of  uncommon  drollery  was 
in  requisition,  and  drinking  was  by  no  means  neglected.  As  a 
necessary  consequence  of  "  Pinkster,"  the  negroes  generally  got 
"  as  jolly  drunk  as  lords,"  and  on  the  following  morning  as  many 
as  twenty-five  or  thirty  would  usually  be  brought  up  before  old 
Squire  Nicolls  on  a  charge  of  "  disorderly  conduct."  The  squire, 
however,  knowing  that  "Pinkster"  came  but  once  a  year,  and 
appreciating  the  peculiar  weaknesses  of  the  negro  character,  always 


40  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

treated  the  culprits  with  leniency;  and,  summarily  confiscating 
whatever  funds  remained  in  their  pockets  after  their  "  spree," 
dismissed  them  until  such  time  as  the  recurrence  of  their  annual 
festival  should  again  bring  them  under  his  judicial  notice.1 

"  In  regard  to  Paas,"  an  old  Brooklynite  writes  us  that  "  its 
observance  as  a  day  for  the  cracking  of  eggs  was  kept  up  with 
great  vigor  in  Brooklyn,  until  about  1830.  Boys  were  to  be 
observed  on  the  corners  of  the  streets,  carrying  their  winnings 
in  their  hats  and  trying  the  hardness  of  the  eggs  upon  their  teeth. 
The  eggs  were  often  boiled  and  colored,  although  this  latter  pro- 
cess did  not  improve  their  hardness.  Goose  eggs  and  guinea- 
hen's  eggs  were  sometimes  used  clandestinely,  or  to  deceive  the 
uninitated ;  and  the  excitement  of  this  small  gambling  is  remem- 
bered to  have  equaled,  in  a  small  way,  that  to  be  witnessed  at 
the  gold  board  in  Broad  street,  New  York." 

To  return  to  the  market,  however.  The  old  building  finally 
became  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  considered  a  nuisance,  and  was 
torn  down  one  night,  in  1814,  by  a  party  of  young  men  and  boys. 
It  was  a  public  institution,  and  the  "market  fees"  were  always 
collected  by  William  Furman,  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor, 
and  who  occupied  a  large  double  frame  house,  (Map  a,  1)  with  a 
long,  high  piazza  in  front,  which  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  present 
City  Rail  Road  Company's  elegant  edifice.  The  house  then  stood 
right  in  front  of  the  ferry  stairs,  which  led  down  on  the  lower 
side  of  the  slip ;  and,  in  the  basement  nearest  the  water,  Mr. 
Furman  kept  an  oyster  house,  where,  for  the  moderate  charge  of 
twelve  and  a  half  cents,  one  could  be  furnished  with  as  many  fine 
roasted  oysters  as  he  could  eat  at  a  sitting.  Adjoining  the  west- 
ern side  of  Furman's  house,  on  the  corner  of  the  beach  under 
the  Heights  (now  Furman  street),  was  a  small  shanty  kept  as  a 
sort  of  opposition  fish  and  oyster  house,  by  another  Furman. 

1  The  five  holidays  of  the  Dutch  were  Christmas  (Kersdydt)  New  Year's  (Niewe 
jar) ;  Saint  Nicholas  or  Christ-Kinkle's  (San  Claes')  day  ;  Easter  (Paas)  and  Whit- 
suntide (Pinkster,  or  Pinxter).  Those  who  would  like  to  understand  more  fully  the 
eccentricities  and  history  of  "  Pinkster  "  will  find  a  very  full  account  of  its  celebration 
among  the  Albany  negroes  in  MunselVs  Historical  Collections  of  Albany,  n ;  Cooper's 
Novel  "  Satanstoe"  also  gives  an  animated  description  of  the  "Pinkster"  in  New 
York  city,  during  the  colonial  times.     The  festival  then  extended  over  three  days. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  N.  41 

William  Furman,  or  "Judge  Furman,"  u  be  waa  generally    called, 

was  of  a  Newtown  lauiily,  and  came  to  Brooklyn,  just  after  the  revolution. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  "New  (or  Catherine  street)  ferry;"  firs! 
judge  of  the  county,  from  1808  to  1823 ;  a  trustee  of  the  village,  in  1817  ; 
supervisor  for  several  years;  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  in  1827  j 
president  of  the  Brooklyn  Fire  Insurance  Company,  incorporated  in  L824, 
and  was.  in  various  other  ways,  honorably  identified  with  the  interests  of 
the  place.  He  is  said  to  have  been  "a  warm  friend  of  Gov.  Clinton,  and 
the  canal  policy,  a  man  of  great  constancy  and  warm  affections."  He  died 
on  the  18th  of  October,  1852,  in  his  87th  year,  having  been  confined  to  his 
house  for  many  years  previous,  by  debility. 

His  son,  Gabriel  Furman,  Esq.,  a  talented  lawyer  and  historian  of  Brook- 
lyn, was  born  in  the  house  which  we  have  described,  in  the  first  mouth  of 
the  present  century;  and,  upon  the  completion  of  his  earlier  studies,  read 
law  with  Elisha  W.  King,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  whose  office  he  entered  in 
1823,  and  with  whom  he  was  a  favorite  student.  Here  he  developed 
qualities  of  steadiness,  method  and  good  analytical  powers;  well  suited,  in 
the  opinion  of  eminent  lawyers,  to  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession. 
From  his  father's  social  position,  also,  young  Furman  secured,  to  a  very  large 
degree,  the  confidence  of  the  Dutch  families  and  of  the  old  residents  of  that 
day,  and  might  easily  have  risen,  by  their  help,  to  wealth,  as  he  evidently 
did  to  an  excellent  position  at  the  bar.  In  1820,  he  was  the  originator  of 
a  debating  society  in  the  village,  and,  in  1824,  at  the  request  of  his  fellow 
citizens,  he  gave  the  fourth  of  July  oration,  at  the  Dutch  church  in 
Joralemon  street.  In  1827,  Gov.  Clinton  appointed  him  a  justice  of  the 
municipal  court  of  Brooklyn,  then  just  established,  which  office  he  held  for 
three  years.  In  November,  1838,  he  was  elected  to  the  senate  of  the  state, 
and  served  during  four  consecutive  years,  his  record  being  marked  by 
ability  and  industry,  and  by  several  statesmanlike  and  excellent  speeches  on 
matters  of  public  policy.  In  1841,  he  delivered  two  very  valuable  lectures, 
on  the  Discoveries  of  the  Northmen,  and  on  Aboriginal  Remains  in  America, 
before  appreciative  audiences,  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Albany,  and  other 
large  cities  of  the  state.  In  1842,  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate,  on  the 
whig  ticket,  for  lieutenant  governor  of  the  state.  But  the  bright  pro- 
mise of  his  earlier  life  was  never  fulfilled.  He  began  to  manifest  irregu- 
larities and  infirmities,  which  pained  and  astonished  his  friends,  and  which, 
no  doubt,  had  their  source  in  the  use  of  opium,  which  he  had  begun  to  use 
in  very  small  quantities  during  the  cholera  summer  of  1852.  Without 
going  into  detail,  we  may  say  that  all  persoual  ambition  seems  to  have  died 
6 


42  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

out  j  his  law  business  became  sadly  neglected.  Always  retiring  and  secluded 
in  his  habits,  he  gradually  became  unsocial,  buried  himself  among  his  books 
and  manuscripts,  or  hid  himself  in  out  of  the  way  nooks  and  corners,  where 
the  eyes  of  even  his  one  or  two  intimate  friends  could  not  find  him. 
Friends  and  clients,  of  course,  became  estranged,  business  fell  away,  public 
opinion,  ever  uncharitable  to  what  it  cannot  understand,  said  harsh  things 
about  the  erratic  scholar,  whose  ways  were  past  finding  out,  and  whose  in- 
attention to  his  business  was  not  only  annoying  to  his  clients,  but  imperil- 
ing their  interests.  Finally,  his  mood  became  somewhat  more  reckless,  his 
property  passed  away,  his  family  were  left  without  the  protection  of  a  roof, 
his  sister  and  aged  father  were  left  helpless  and  dependent  upon  others,  his 
much  loved  books  passed  under  the  sheriff's  hammer,  and,  his  own  misused 
life  went  out  amid  clouds  and  darkness,  Nov.  11th,  1854,  in  the  City 
Hospital.  Yet  Furman  was  in  no  sense  a  vicious  man.  The  pernicious 
influence  of  the  lethean  drug,  combined  with  an  overweening  love  of  study 
for  its  own  sake,  seem  to  have  benumbed  his  sense  of  duty  and  of  responsi- 
bility to  the  community,  to  his  family,  and  to  himself;  and,  in  the  grateful 
seclusion  of  his  study,  he  became  selfishly  forgetful  of  all  outside  realities. 
What  this  feeling  was,  we  may,  perhaps,  best  learn  from  the  following 
extracts  from  his  manuscript  memoranda,  in  earlier  life  : 

"As  to  politics  and  contest  for  office,  they  are  entirely  dissimilar  to  my 
habits  of  feeling  and  very  unpleasant,  and  nothing  but  an  imperious  sense  of 
duty  to  my  country  would  ever  induce  me  to  enter  at  all  into  them,  or  to 
have  any  sort  of  connection  with  them.  My  wish  would  be,  if  possible  to 
be  attained,  to  pass  my  life  as  a  literary  man,  and  a  humble  inquirer  into 
the  history  of  my  country,  never  to  mingle  in  political  life,  never  to  hold 
an  office  of  any  kind,  but  quietly  to  while  away  my  time  among  my  books 
and  papers;  and  when  it  pleased  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  all  events  to  call 
me  hence,  to  lay  my  head  upon  the  pillow  of  death  in  peace  with  all  men. 
There  is  nothing  on  earth  to  compare,  in  the  least  degree,  with  the  joy  and 
comfort,  which  attends  literary  research,  with  the  inward  satisfaction,  which 
results  from  a  day  thus  spent.  It  strikes  me  that  a  man  truly  literary  can 
never  be  immoral."  Again,  speaking  of  the  love  of  books,  "  It  is  a  passion 
which  gains  strength  by  what  it  feeds  on,  and  affords  an  unalloyed  pleasure, 
far,  very  far,  transcendentally  far,  beyond  what  can  be  afforded  by  any  other 
pursuit  in  this  life.  It  also  renders  a  man,  to  a  great  extent,  independent 
of  the  world  for  his  happiness,  and  enjoyments.  Society  with  its  pleasures 
is  not  with  him  as  it  is  with  thousands,  everything.  He  has  another  world, 
unaffected  by  toils  and  troubles,  in  which  there  are  no  storms  nor  tempests, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  43 

but  everything  La  peace,  calm  and  sunshine;  an  eternal  spring  and 
Bummer,  having  at  once  the  promise  and  the  fruition."  These  sentiments 
bespeak  the  enthusiastic  and  pure  minded  scholar;  but,  alas,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  promise  of  his  spring-time  and  summer  never  reached  its  full 
fruition.  Y'et  there  remains  enough  of  the  results  of  his  labor,  to  make  us 
thankful  that  he  once  lived  among  us.  In  the  library  of  the  Long  Island 
Historical  Society,  is  a  little  row  of  bound  volumes  of  manuscript,  fairly 
transcribed  in  his  own  clerkly  chirography,  and  comprising  almost  every 
conceivable  topic  of  curiosity,  or  inquiry,  from  the  most  scientific  to  the 
most  absurd  and  trivial,  all  thrown  together  without  order  in  a  perfect 
chance-medley.  Yet,  amid  this  mighty  mass  of  miscellaneous  matter,  which 
curiously  illustrates  the  scope  and  composition  of  his  mind,  Furman,  for- 
tunately for  us,  carefully  jotted  down  all  that  occurred  to  his  observation  in 
the  elementary  condition  and  progress  of  his  native  city.  In  the  well  chosen 
words  of  one  of  his  most  intimate  earlier  friends,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  most  that  is  known  about  him,  "  his  mind  early  turned  towards  its  cha- 
racters, traditions,  revolutionary  reminiscences,  and  the  facts  of  its  earlier 
settlement  and  population,  agriculture  and  trade.  He  seemed  to  have  an 
intuitive  and  prophetic  sagacity  as  to  the  importance  of  describing,  record- 
ing and  fixing  the  dates  of  many  things  of  his  own  time,  which  could 
change  with  progress  and  be  forgotten.  The  minuteness  of  some  of  these 
details  may  look  like  folly  and  simplicity,  but  still  the  better  critics  will 
admit  that  they  go  to  make  up  his  reputation  as  an  antiquarian  of  the  best 
character,  who  knew  that  these  details  would  be  the  very  things  that  pos- 
terity would  delight  in.  Already,  in  the  rapid  march  of  population  for 
the  past  thirty  years,  since  Brooklyn  assumed  the  character  of  a  city,  the 
old  buildings  and  landmarks  have  been  swept  away,  and,  but  for  Judge 
Furman's  'Notes,'  published  in  182-4,  it  would  be  well-nigh  impossible  for 
us  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  our  '  goodly  heritage.'  In  person,  Furman 
was  of  middle  height,  well  formed,  with  fine,  high  forehead,  and  Roman 
features,  strongly  resembling  the  best  portraits  of  Pascal,  the  eminent 
French  philosopher  and  Christian.  He  was  always  neatly  dressed,  generally 
in  frock-coat  of  dark  greenish  hue,  with  light  pantaloons  and  vest,  shoes 
with  spatterdashes  and  a  black  fur  hat,  turned  up  at  the  side,  and  carefully 
brushed.  His  neck-tie,  a  little  gay  and  ornamental,  adding  grace  to  his 
otherwise  somewhat  quaint  and  prim  attire;  and  his  tout-<  rut mblc  that  of 
the  polished  gentleman,  and  suggestive  also,  of  a  scholar  and  antiquary." 

Between  Furman's  house  and  the  corner  of  the  present  Colum- 
bia street,  there  had  originally  been,  in  the  early  colonial  times, 


44  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

a  cattle-yard  or  enclosure,  wherein  were  confined  the  cattle  brought 
down  from  the  island  for  sale  in  the  New  York  markets,  and 
which  were  often  delayed,  by  stress  of  weather,  from  crossing  the 
East  river,  for  days  together.  It  is  probable  that  this  cattle-yard 
(represented  in  the  view  of  the  Brookland  Ferry  House,  in  1745, 
see  chapter  on  ferries)  originally  extended  to  Doughty  street,  for 
we  have  evidence  of  there  having  been  a  public  landing  place  at 
the  foot  of  that  street.  On  the  site  of  this  yard,  adjoining  to 
Furman's  dwelling,  there  was,  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  a 
two-story  frame  house,  with  dormer  windows  and  a  long  front 
stoop,  occupied  by  John  Bedell  asa"  stage-house  "  and  grocery. 
Next  to  this  (Map  a,  5),  was  a  very  large  brick  stable,  with  slate 
roof,  said  to  be  the  best  on  the  island. 

On  the  corner  of  the  narrow  lane,  now  called  Elizabeth  street, 
was  a  very  old  brick  building  (Map  a,  8),  of  awte-revolutionary 
date,  owned  by  John  Carpenter  and  subsequently  occupied  by 
Daniel  Mott  as  a  tavern.  Mott  was  burned  out  in  January,  1814, 
by  a  great  fire  which  involved  some  of  his  neighbors,  between  his 
place  and  the  river,  among  whom  were  Thomas  Everit  and  John 
Bedell.  After  this,  for  many  years,  the  ground  was  occupied  by 
a  temporary  structure  used  as  a  grocery  until  the  erection  (about 
1832)  of  the  brick  edifice  known  from  that  day  to  the  present  as 
"  Carll's  stables." 

Across  the  lane,  stood  the  old  stone  tavern  (Map  a,  9)  to  which 
Benjamin  Smith  removed  after  he  was  burned  out  of  the  "  Corpo- 
ration house,"  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  (Fulton  street)  in 
1812.1  It  was  a  two-story  stone  edifice,  of  about  fifty  feet  front, 
with  its  bar  and  sitting  room  on  the  corner  next  the  lane,  and  a 
sign,  swinging  before  the  door,  proclaimed  it  to  be  "  The  Traveller's 
Inn.  By  Benjamin  Smith"  It  was  afterwards  known  as  "  Smith2 
and  Woods,"  and,  at  a  later  date  still,  was  kept  by  Samuel  Bird- 
sell,  the  father  of  our  venerable  fellow  citizen  Mr.  Thos.  W. 
Birdsell.  It  was  a  noted  stopping  place  for  the  Long  Island 
Quakers  when  they  came  to  Brooklyn.  At  times,  it  was  said,  as 
many  as  a  hundred  and  fifty  horses  munched  their  oats,  stamped 

1  Ante,  p.  9.  2  Valentine  Smith,  yet  living,  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Hempstead. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  45 

their  feet  and  whisked  away  the  flies,  in  the  stables  of  thia  inn, 

and  great  was  its  fame  among  the  "broad  brims."  It  was,  also, 
the  place  of  deposit  for  the  New  York  newspapers,  which  were 
brought  over  in  small  boats,  and  left  here  for  delivery  to  subscri- 
bers; for,  in  that  day,  the  post  office  confined  its  operations 
simply  to  the  transmission  of  letters.  To  "  Ben.  Smith's,"  there- 
fore, the  village  urchins  were  wont  to  resort,  on  their  way  home 
from  school,  for  the  papers  which  were  anxiously  awaited  by  their 
parents.  Nor  —  when  they  had  obtained  the  desired  paper  — 
did  they  linger  around  the  bar-room;  for,  in  those  "good  old- 
fashioned  days,"  boys  were  made  to  understand  that  such  places 
were  no  fit  places  for  them.  Next  above  Smith's  was  James  W. 
Burtis's  feed  store  (Map  a,  29) ;  and  a  tavern  (also  Map  a,  29) 
kept  by  Martin  Boerum,  a  son  of  an  old  citizen  of  Brooklyn,  who 
owned  a  large  farm  near  the  "Wallabout.  Upon  his  father's  death, 
Martin  assumed  the  charge  of  his  patrimonial  farm,  and  sold  out 
his  tavern  stand  to  John  Hunter,  a  rough,  jovial  man,  who  (by  virtue 
of  having  formerly  been  a  member  of  the  "  Horse  artillery  "  of  the 
county)  emblazoned  upon  his  sign  the  rude  delineation  of  a  mounted 
artilleryman,  above  the  words  "Hunter's  hotel."  Of  course,  his 
stand  became  the  general  "  headquarters  "  for  many  of  his  old  com- 
rades and  military  acquaintances  when  they  came  down  from  the 
island.  Landlord  Hunter's  joviality  frequently  took  the  form 
of  practical  jokes;  and  it  was  an  exaggerated  offer  of  purchase 
made  by  him  to  Jacob  Patchen,  as  if  in  earnest,  which  formed 
the  ground  of  an  affidavit  upon  which  the  first  valuation  of  the 
celebrated  plot  in  Market  street,  was  set  aside  and  a  new  appraise- 
mout  had,  in  that  tough  and  famous  litigation.  Like  his  neighbor 
Smith,  Hunter  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  order 
in  the  village. 

Next  to  Hunter's,  and  about  opposite  to  Front  street,  was 
Selah  Smith's  tavern  (Map  a,  30),  double  frame  building,  erected 

*At  the  period  when  this  old  house  was  built,  and  for  many  years  after,  down 
to  about  1805,  nothing  but  oak  was  used  for  the  frames  of  dwellings,  even  of  wood. 
Pine  was  not  then  thought  of  for  that  purpose;  and,  in  the  construction  of  brick 
and  stone  houses,  the  lime  used,  was  generally  made  from  burning  oyster  shells; 
and  the  mortar  was  carefully  made,   with    a  large  quantity   of   this  lime,  in  the 


46  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

in  1780,  and  framed  entirely  of  oak,  even  to  the  rafters.1  Fur- 
man's  Manuscripts  record  (in  1824),  that  "in  digging  the  cellar  of 
this  house,  a  large  rock  was  found,  in  endeavoring  to  sink  which, 
it  slipped,  and  one  of  the  workmen  fell  under  it  and  there  his 
bones  remain  to  the  present  day,"  which  legend,  of  course,  gives 
to  that  building  and  its  present  successor  an  indubitable  right  to 
have  a  ghost  of  its  own. 

Along  the  easterly  side  of  the  tavern  ran  the  alley  leading  to 
the  stables  in  the  rear,  and  the  gateway  at  its  entrance,  was 
spanned  by  a  huge  arch,  formed  of  a  whale's  jaw-bones,  and 
painted  blue.  Selah  Smith,  died  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1819,  and  the  business  was  continued  by  his  widow,  Ann. 
Adjoining  the  other  side  of  the  alley,  was  the  ancient,  two- 
story,  brick  building,  with  a  very  high  stoop  (Map  a,  31),  occu- 
pied as  a  residence  by  Burdet  Stryker,  tallow  chandler  and 
butcher,  his  shop  being  in  the  basement. 

He  was  the  son  of  Hendrik  Stryker,  a  native  of  Brooklyn,  and  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  11th  of  February,  1769.  He  served  his 
apprenticeship  with  that  good  old  Quaker  butcher,  Thomas  Everit,  jr.,  near 
the  Old  Ferry,  Brooklyn  j  and,  on  arriving  of  age  set  up  for  himself  in  the 
village  where  he  continued  in  business  during  his  life  time.  His  slaughter- 
house was,  at  first,  in  Doughty  street,  and  he  had  a  stand  (No.  60)  in  the 
old  Fly  market,  New  York,  for  which,  in  1796,  he  paid  $210,  and  soon  after 
took  up  the  business  of  a  tallow  chandler,  in  Brooklyn.  Jn  1822  his  stand 
was  at  No.  80  Fulton  market.  In  1791,  he  married  Hannah  Waters,  who 
died  in  1797,  and  he  then  married  Susan  Roberts,  widow  of  Isaac  Remsen. 
In  1794,  he  was  one  of  the  eight  firemen  chosen  by  the  citizens,  at  annual 
town  meeting,  to  man  the  new  fire  engine,  the  second  one  in  the  infant  fire 
department  of  Brooklyn.  DuriDg  the  same  year,  he  became  identified  with 
the  establishment  of  Methodism  in  Brooklyn,  being  one  of  the  board  of 
trustees  in  the  newly  incorporated  Methodist  church  in  Sands  street.  In 
1799,  as  we  learn  from  the  papers,  "  a  gaDg  of  villains  stole  two  horses  from 
the  stable  of  Burdet  Stryker,  of  Brooklyn.     One  of  these  was  a  favorite 

autumn,  previous  to  building  in  the  spring,  then  covered  over  with  loam  and  left  to 
stand  in  a  heap  through  the  winter ;  and  it  has  been  found,  in  taking  down  old  houses 
constructed  in  this  manner,  about  as  easy  to  break  the  brick,  or  stone,  as  it  was  to 
separate  them  from  the  mortar. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  47 

horse  which  he  kept  for  the  saddle,  and  occasionally  to  parade  with  when 
ordered  out  with  the  Brooklyn  Troop  of  Horse."  He  was  much  interested 
in  military  matters,  being,  also,  the  captain  of  the  village  militia  company, 
the  "  Republican  rifles,"  which  subsequently,  during  the  war  of  1812,  volun- 
teered, and  performed  a  tour  of  duty  at  New  Utrecht,  with  much  credit.  He  was 
an  ardent  politician  of  the  old  Jeffersonfan  school,  and  a  member  of  the  cele- 
brated "  Tammany  Society,  or  Columbian  order,"  being  one  of  the  "  Wallabout 
committee,"  appointed  iu  1808,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  sepulture  of  the 
marytrs  of  the  prison  ships,  at  the  Wallabout.1  Subsequently,  he  left  the 
democratic  ranks  and  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  with 
whom  he  was  on  terms  of  considerable  intimacy.  His  old  political  friends 
relate,  with  much  gusto,  several  amusing  anecdotes  about  him,  especially  of 
his  peculiar  aversion  to  the  practice  of  "  splitting  tickets,"  against  which  he 
was  wont  to  inveigh  with  great  warmth,  insisting,  in  his  sputtering  Dutch 
way.  that  folks  "  should  take  de  tail,  mit  de  hide."  It  was,  however,  in 
the  benevolent  aspects  of  his  life  and  character  that  Burdet  Stryker  was 
best  appreciated  and  remembered  by  those  who  knew  him.  On  the  several 
occasions  when  Brooklyn  was  visited  by  the  dreaded  yellow  fever,  and,  also, 
on  the  occurrence  of  small-pox,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  fearless, 
patient  and  thorough  devotion  to  the  sick.  When  friends  and  family  fled 
from  the  touch  of  the  pestilence,  then  Burdet  Stryker  appeared  at  the  bed- 
side of  the  sufferer,  and,  regardless  of  color,  social  position,  and  condition, 
he  nursed  them  tenderly  as  if  they  had  been  his  own  "  kith  and  kin  j  "  and, 
if  needs  be,  as  frequently  happened,  he  performed  the  last  sad  offices  and 
buried  them  with  his  own  hands.     No  case,  however  deplorable,  failed  to 

1  Col.  De  Voe  says  of  Mr.  Stryker's  connection  with  this  movement  {Historical 
Magazine,  second  series,  n,  346) :  "  A  grand  celebration  took  place  on  the  fourth 
of  July,  1804,  when  all  the  uniform  corps,  consisting  of  the  Brooklyn  Troop  of  Horse, 
Republican  Riflemen,  Artillery,  Washington  Fusileers  and  the  Rising  Sun  Company, 
formed  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  where  they  performed  various  evolutions,  under  Col. 
Jeremiah  Johnson.  In  the  afternoon  the  officers  dined  together,  and  among  the 
toasts  offered  on  that  occasion,  was  '  Those  hardy  sons  of  freedom,  who  died  on  board 
the  Jersey  prison  ship  ;  their  bones  have  severally  had  a  grave,  while  their  patriotism 
has  merited  a  monument ;  may  their  memory  be  held  in  the  highest  veneration, 
until  the  end  of  time.'  Whether  it  was  this  toast  then  offered,  or  the  daily  conversa- 
tion on  the  same  subject,  but  from  that  moment,  Stryker  became  very  much  interested 
in  the  matter.  Being  somewhat  patriotic  and  liberally  disposed,  with  feelings 
strongly  in  favor  of  '  old  fashioned  republicanism'  which  cause  he  was  ready  at  all 
times  to  advance,  without  seeking  rewards  or  office,  he,  with  Benjamin  Romaine, 
John  Jackson  and  others,  became  colaborers  in  getting  up  a  grand  procession,  and  in 
removing  the  bones  of  the  martyrs  from  the  Wallabout,"  to  the  vault  in  Jackson  street. 


48  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

enlist  his  sympathy ;  no  remonstrance  ever  deterred  him  from  his  self- 
imposed  ministrations  of  duty  ;  and  he  even  insisted  upon  his  sons,  especially 
Mr.  (ex-mayor)  F.  B.  Stryker,  accompanying  him  upon  these  errands  of 
benevolence,  saying  to  the  neighbors  who  remonstrated  with  him  "  I  cannot 
always  be  here,  and  I  want  my  lads  to  know  about  the  disease,  and  to  learn 
how  to  be  useful  to  the  sick."  That  these  bedside  lessons  of  personal 
courage  and  practical  Christianity  were  not  wasted,  has  been  amply  evidenced 
by  the  subsequent  career  of  these  boys,  now  grown  to  years  and  to  position 
in  the  confidence  and  respect  of  their  fellow  citizens.  In  personal  appearance 
he  is  strongly  resembled  by  his  son,  F.  B.  Stryker,  although  not  quite  so  tall 
as  the  latter.  He  was  erect,  alert  in  movement,  plain  in  manner  and  dress, 
honest  of  purpose,  easy  and  blunt  in  conversation  ;  in  short,  a  sort  of"  rough 
diamond."     He  died  February  1st,  1825. 

We  will  now  cross  Fulton  street  and  examine  the  buildings  on 
its  northerly  side,  between  the  river  and  Front  street. 

By  reference  to  the  "  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry  in  1766  -  7  and 
1867"  (page  311  of  our  first  volume),  the  reader  will  perceive 
that,  as  late  even  as  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  period,  the 
high  water  mark  of  the  East  river,  north  of  the  ferry,  extended 
nearly  up  to  the  westerly  line  of  Front  street.  They  will,  also, 
see  that  the  nearest  building  to  the  river,  on  the  northerly  side  of 
the  Old  Ferry  road  (Fulton  street),  was  the  Ferry  tavern,  or 
"  Corporation  House,"  which  has  been  fully  described  in  our 
previous  volume.1  Between  it  and  the  ferry  stairs,  during  the 
revolutionary  period,  there  was  a  frame  building,  together  with  a 
barn  for  stabling,  both  of  which  were  enclosed  within  the  tavern 
yard.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  Capt.  Adolph  Waldron,  the 
former  occupant,  returned  from  the  exile  to  which  his  political 
principles  had  forced  him,  and  resumed  his  ferry  and  tavern 
leases,  which  he  carried  on  for  some  years  thereafter,  being  suc- 
ceeded in  1789,  by  Capt.  Henry  Dawson,  one  of  the  three  new  ferry- 
men, that  year  appointed  by  the  corporation  of  New  York. 

Henry  Dawson  was  a  native  of  Dublin,  Ireland;  of  good  family;  and 
at  one  time  a  major  in  the  British  army.     He  came  to  this  country  about 

^ol.  i,  pp.  311,  444;  see,  also,  "View  of  Old  Ferry  House,  in  1748,"  in  chapter 
on  Ferries. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  49 

1760,  and  married  for  his  first  wife  a  Miss  Coombs,  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  and 
for  his  second  wife,  a  sister  of  Gen.  Jacob  Morton,  for  twenty-six  years  the 
clerk  of  the  common  council  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Mr.  Dawson  resided 
in  Brooklyn,  near  the  Old  Ferry,  in  Doughty  street,  and  (retaining  all  the 
sportsmanlike  tastes  of  his  early  life),  he  kept  a  pack  of  dogs,  as  well  as 
hunting  steeds,  with  which  he  frequently  took  "  a  brush  "  in  the  country 
around  the  village  of  Brooklyn.     He  held  the  ferry  until  his  death  in  1808.1 

The  tavern  is  next  found  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  Benjamin 
Smith,  who  was  burned  out,  as  before  stated,  in  1812.2  But,  at 
the  period  of  which  we  speak,  the  block  between  the  ferry  and 
Front  street,  had  been  much  extended  by  filling  in,  and  its  ap- 
pearance totally  changed  by  the  erection  of  a  line  of  buildings, 
mostly  occupied  by  stores,  taverns  and  stables. 

Standing,  then,  at  the  ferry  slip,  we  notice,  upon  the  site  of  the 
"  ladies  sitting  room,"  in  the  present  ferry  house,  a  small  shanty 
(Map  a,  4),  built  and  occupied  by  Daniel  Wright,  as  an  oyster 
saloon,  his  oysters  being  conveniently  kept  fresh  in  the  water 
which  flowed  beneath. 

To  the  north,  or  left  of  this  shanty,  the  original  beach  appeared ; 
while  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  Marston  &  Powers'  extensive 
coal  yard  (Map  a,  50),  was  originally  Richard  Mott's  livery  and 
tavern,  afterwards  kept  successively  by  Townsend  &  Cox,  Joel 
Conklin,  and  Daniel  Wright,  and  it  was  a  general  stopping  place 
for  the  habitues  of  the  ferry. 

Opposite,  on  the  easterly  side  of  Water  street,  and  on  land 
owned  by  the  corporation  of  New  York,  was  a  block  of  four 
buildings,  all  under  one  roof,  and  fronting  on  Fulton  street.     The 

1  Henry  Dawson,  Jr.,  son  of  the  above,  was  born  in  Jamaica,  in  1771,  and  married 
Miriam,  a  niece  of  Elias  Hicks,  the  Quaker  preacher.  He  lived  in  Doughty  street 
in  Brooklyn,  and  continued  the  ferry,  after  his  father's  death,  up  to  1810  or  '12.  He 
was  more  enthusiastic  in  sporting  matters,  even,  than  his  father,  and  it  was  said  of 
him,  that  "  he  had  not  a  bone  in  his  body,  which  had  not,  at  one  time  or  another, 
been  broken  "  by  the  falls  and  accidents  lie  had  experienced  in  his  favorite  diversion. 
He  had  sons,  Jacob  H.  (who  is  now  a  patent-leather  manufacturer  in  Newark,  X.  J.) ; 
Staats ;  George  and  John;  and  a  grandson,  Rodman  B.  Dawson,  who  was  surro- 
gate of  Kings  county,  in  1855,  1856,  1857,  and  1858. 

2  Ante,  p.  9. 

7 


50  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

corner  one  (Map  a,  19),  now  "  The  Franklin  House,"  was  origin- 
ally a  tavern  kept  by  Captain  King,  and  afterwards  by  Mr.  Barnum, 
subsequently  the  proprietor  of  the  widely  known  and  popular 
"  Barnum's  Hotel,"  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Abiather  Young,  who  kept  here  "The  Steamboat  Hotel,"  and 
he,  in  turn,  was  followed  by  Gerardus  C.  Langdon. 

Langdon,  had,  from  1816  to  1822,  kept  the  "  Steamboat  Hotel "  in 
South  street  near  the  ferry,  in  New  York  city,  and,  removing  to  Brooklyn, 
opened  a  grocery  store  next  door  above  Young,  who  was  his  brother-in-law, 
and  whom  he  subsequently  succeeded.  He  was  a  jovial,  talkative  man,  and 
most  grievously  tormented  with  gout,  which  had  so  crippled  his  feet  as  to 
oblige  him,  in  his  later  years,  to  use  almost  constantly  a  wheeled  chair  to 
get  around  in.  Many  funny  anecdotes  connect  themselves  with  "  Gerardy," 
one  of  which  we  may  venture  to  relate.  Langdon,  who  was  an  original 
stockholder  in  the  steamboat  ferry,  was  one  day  obliged  to  go  over  to  New 
York  on  business  connected  therewith,  and  made  an  arrangement  with  Bob 

,  the  somewhat  bibulous  son  of  an  esteemed  citizen  of  the  village,  to 

"  tend  bar"  for  him  during  his  absence.  His  instructions  to  Bob  were 
that  he  should  not  drink  more  than  one  glass  of  liquor  for  every  three  that 
he  sold.  On  "  Gerardy  V  return,  however,  the  bar  was  found,  to  all 
appearances,  tending  itself,  and  Bob  as  gloriously  befuddled,  as  he  could 
well  be.  Langdon's  first  look  was  into  his  money  till,  and  finding,  to  his 
surprise,  that  it  only  contained  eighteen  pence  (the  price  of  three  drinks, 
in  those  days),  he  incontinently  "pitched  into"  the  somnolent  defaulter 
with  a  "  Why !  Bob,  how's  this  ?  You're  drunk  as  a  fool,  and  only  three 
drinks  in  the  drawer  !  Did'nt  I  tell  you  to  take  only  one  drink  for  every 
three  you  sold?"  "No  —  no  —  no,"  replied  drowsy  Bob,  rubbing  his  eyes 
confusedly,  "N  —  o  —  o,  I  did'nt  take  it  quite  that  way.  I  thought  you 
said  I  could  drink  three  drinks  to  every  one  I  sold." 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  hotel  was  a  large  ball  room,  where 
entertainments  was  given,  and  where  many  an  old  Brooklynite 
learned  to  "  shake  the  light  fantastic  toe,"  under  the  able  instruc- 
tion of  Mr.  Whale,  dancing  master.  In  this  room,  also,  Elias 
Hicks,  the  celebrated  Quaker  preacher,  frequently  held  forth  to 
large  audiences,  of  all  denominations,  who  were  always  attracted 
to  his  preaching. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  51 

Next  above  "  Gerardy  "  Langdon's,was  Coe  S.  Downing's  tavern 
i-Map  a,  20),  and  stage  house.  Its  immense  sign,  projecting  over 
the  sidewalk,  attracted  much  attention  from  strangers,  not  only 
from  its  size,  but  from  its  peculiar  inscription,  which  at  least  one 
English  traveler  has  immortalized  by  inserting,  verbatim  et  literatim, 
in  his  printed  travels : l 


&   LIVERY   STABLE. 
HORSES   AND    CARRIAGES    TO    BE    LET. 
FLAT-BUSII     AND     BATH  —  HEMPSTEAD  —  JERUSALEM  —  HEMP- 
STEAD  HARBOUR  — COW   NECK  —  WESTBURY  —  MUSQUETOE 
COVE — JERICHO — OYSTER   BAY — HUNTINGTON  —  EASTWOODS — 
DIXHLLL — BABYLON   AND   ISLIP,   STAGE   HOUSE. 


Upon  the  stoop  under  this  gigantic  sign-board,  with  its  curious  medley  of 
island  names,  Downing  could  be  seen,  at  almost  every  hour  of  the  day, 
comfortably  seated  in  a  chair  adapted  to  his  especial  use ;  for  he  was  as 
big  as  his  sign,  a  Daniel  Lambert  of  a  man,  to  whom  quiescence  was  far 
easier  than  locomotion.  But,  if  any  one  had  imagined  that  "  mine  host's  ;; 
intellect  partook  of  the  heaviness  of  his  frame,  they  would  have  done  him  a 
serious  injustice.  He  was  vivacious,  kindly  hearted,  intelligent  and  shrewd. 
He  was  originally  a  Quaker,  from  Jerusalem  (where  he  was  ultimately 
buried),  and,  therefore,  naturally  succeeded  to  much  of  the  island  patronage 
and  stage  business  of  old  Ben.  Smith's  tavern,  after  that  worthy's  decease. 
He  was  a  democrat  of  the  ;'  straightest  sort,"  and,  for  many  years,  the  leading 
politician  of  that  party,  in  the  county.  Although  somewhat  too  blindly 
obedient  to  party  lines,  he  was,  neYertheless,  universally  esteemed  to  be 
honest,  conscientious  and  reliable  —  qualities  which  commended  him  to  his 
fellow  citizens  whom  he  served  acceptably  in  both  houses  of  the  state  legis- 
lature, as  well  as  in  the  board  of  supervisors  and  as  a  judge  of  the  municipal 
court  in  Brooklyn. 

The  next  building  (Map  a,  21)  was  the  liquor  and  grocery  store 
of  old  Mr.  Evert  Barkeloo;-  and,  as  a  modest  little  sign  over  the 
door  announced,  the  "  office  of  the  trustees  of  the  town  of  Brook- 
lyn/' of  which  body  Mr.  B.  was  clerk. 

lCapt.  Basil  Hall's  Travels  in  the  United  $tat<.s,  I,  14. 


52  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Next  door  (Map  a,  22)  was  Thomas  Burroughs',  the  harness 
maker ;  and,  next  to  him,  was  Samuel  Carman's  tavern  (Map  a, 
23),  much  patronized  by  island  folks  of  the  rougher  sort,  among 
whom  "  Sammy  "  was  an  oracle,  especially  in  regard  to  "  horse  " 
matters.  A  covered  alley  between  his  hotel  and  his  next  neighbor 
on  the  east  gave  entrance  to  the  tavern  stables  in  the  rear.  Next 
him  was  the  shop  of  Samuel  Penny,  (Map  a,  24)  whose  sign  of 
"  merchant  barber  "  burlesqued  that  of  his  next  door  neighbor 
Peter  Prest  (Map  a,  25),  the  "  merchant  tailor."  On  Penny's  place 
"  Sheriff"  John  T.  Bergen  afterwards  built  and  kept  a  grocery 
store.  Adjoining  Prest's  was  the  wholesale  grocery  (Map  a,  26),  of 
Messrs.  J.  &  S.  Schenck,  occupying  the  site  of  the  old  "  Corpo- 
ration," or  Ferry  house. 

It  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  "  map  of  Brookland  ferry," 
in  our  first  volume  (p.  311),  that  the  angling  position  of  the 
"  Corporation  house  "  left,  on  the  westerly  corner  of  the  present 
Front  and  Fulton  streets,  a  "  gore "  between  it  and  the  stone 
mansion  of  John  Rapalje.1  On  this  vacant  space,  was  subsequently 
erected  an  engine  house  for  the  accommodation  of  the  first  fire 


1  Gen.  Johnson,  in  a  manuscript  communication  to  the  board  of  village  trustees 
dated  Oct.  17,  1833,  after  describing  the  location  of  the  Corporation  house,  further 
states,  on  authority  of  Chas.  Doughty,  and  Fernandus  Suydam,  Esqs.,  men  of 
respectability  (who  assisted  in  building  the  mansion  house  of  John  Rapalje,  and  of 
course  were  well  acquainted  with  the  grounds  contiguous  to  the  ferry),  and  Lambert 
Suydam,  of  Bedford,"  that  "  between  the  yard  occupied  by  Waldron,  and  the  house, 
and  land  of  John  Rapalje  there  then  was  a  road  running  to  the  river,  to  a  public 
landing,  whereat  a  public  slaughter  house  for  the  butchers  of  the  town  was  erected  ; " 
that  during  the  occupation  of  the  British  (1776-1784),  this  "  road  was  shut  up  by 
the  persons,  who  occupied  the  Corporation  house,  or  by  John  Rapalje,  or  by  both 
parties,"  and  that  "  after  the  evacuation  of  the  county,  by  the  British,  the  road  and 
landing  place  above  stated  remained  in  the  enclosure  of  the  Corporation  of  New 
York(i.  e.,  of  the  Corporation  house),  or  of  Comfort  and  Joshua  Sands,"  who  purchased 
it  after  its  confiscation,  but  who  "  are  not  chargeable  with  voluntarily  closing  the 
road,  etc.,  the  shore  of  their  possession  remaining  open  in  its  whole  distance  for  three 
or  four  years."  Gen.  Johnson,  furthermore,  says :  "  the  statements  of  these  gentle- 
men are  corroborated  by  the  record  of  a  road  diverging  from  the  main  road  in 
Brooklyn,  to  a  public  landing  place  on  the  south  side  of  the  dock  of  Hendrick 
Hendrickson,  against  the  East  river.  If  this  landing  be  not  north  of  the  Fulton  ferry, 
then,  in  my  opinion,  it  must  be  at  a  place  where  the  road,  or  lane  now  called  Love  Lane 
formerly  ran  down  to  the  river,  etc." 


1 1 1  STORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  53 

engine  introduced  into  the  town.  The  town's  fire-hell  was  swung 
upon  the  roof  of  the  adjoining  Rapalje  house  (Map  a,  28),  then 
occupied  by  Mr.  Abraham  Remsen,  who  in  return  for  the  accom- 
modation was  granted  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  belonging 
to  the  firemen;  a  courtesy  which  was  no  more  than  just,  inas- 
much as  tradition  says,  that  he  was  the  only  man  in  the  place  who 
was  willing  to  accept  the  risk  of  having  his  slumbers  disturbed  by 
the  clanging  of  the  bell  over  his  head. 

The  Rapalje  house  (Map  a,  28,  and  No  2,  "Map  of  Brookland 
Ferry,"1  first  volume),  has  been  already  described.  It  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Abraham  Remsen,  above  mentioned,  who  demo- 
lished it  and  used  a  portion  of  the  stone  in  the  erection  upon 
the  same  site  of  a  brick  and  stone  store  and  dwelling,  where  he  kept 
dry  goods  and  groceries.  After  his  removal  to  Newtown,  L.  L,  this 
brick  building  gave  place  to  that  occupied,  for  many  years  (until 
May,  1861),  by  the  Long  Island  Insurance  Company,  and  at  present 
by  the  splendid  building  of  the  Long  Island  Safe  Deposit  Company. 

Let  us  recross,  now,  to  the 

Southerly  side  of  the  Old  Road  {Fulton  street),  from  opposite  Front 
street  to  Middaqh  street. 

Next  above  Burdet  Stryker's,  were  some  lots  owned  by  the  French 
church  {L'Eglise  du  Sainie  Esprit)  of  New  York,  on  which  were  two 
or  three  small  frame  buildings.  One  of  these  (Map  a,  32)  adjoining 
Stryker's,  was  the  residence  of  Henry  Dawson,  Jr.,  a  ferryman, 
who  kept  one  of  the  "sixpenny  boats,"  as  the  row-boats  were 
called,  from  the  amount  charged  for  ferriage ;  then  (Map  a,  33), 
the  residence  of  John  Simonson,  a  well  known  butcher;  then  (Map 
a,  34)  a  house  occupied  by  the  Misses  Van  Cleef,  sisters  of  old 
Rulof  Van  Cleef,  the  ferryman.  They  were  marketwomen,  and 
acquired  a  comfortable  property.  Then  (Map  a,  35),  was  the 
shoe-shop  of  Isaac  Van  Nostrand,  who  used  to  say  that  he  "  could 
fit  a  man's  foot,  but  he  could  not  fit  his  eye ;"  then  (Map  a,  37), 
John  Rusher,  tin  and  wooden  ware  ;  and,  on  the  corner  of  Hicks 
street,  the  low  one  and  a  half-story  store  of  D.  Pell,  grocer ;  after- 

1  Vol.  1,  p.  78,  79,  312. 


54  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

wards,  in  1831,  fitted  up  as  a  drug  store  for  Dr.  James  W.  Smith, 
by  his  village  friends. 

Here,  crossing  the  then  narrow  mouth  of  Hicks  street,  we 
come  (Map  a,  38;  and  Fig.  5,  in  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry,  page 
311,  of  first  volume)  to  an  ancient,  roomy,  low-roofed  house,  con- 
structed of  stone,  roughly  plastered  over  and  shaded  by  two 
immense  willow  trees.  This  was  the  Hicks'  mansion,  in  which 
resided  two  brothers,  John  M.,  and  Jacob  M.  Hicks,  who  had 
inherited,  through  their  mother,  a  fine  portion  of  the  original 
Middagh  estate.  Exempted,  by  the  possession  of  ample  means, 
from  the  necessity  of  engaging  in  business  or  active  labor,  they 
passed  their  lives  in  a  quiet,  leisurely  manner,  which  gained  for 
them,  from  their  less  fortunate  neighbors,  the  appellation  (dis- 
tinguishing them  from  others  of  the  same  name  in  the  village)  of 
"  the  Gentlemen  Hicks."  John  M.  (known  as  "  Milk "  Hicks, 
from  the  fact  that  he  sold  milk)  resided  in  the  small  frame  house, 
still  standing  on  the  south-west  corner  of  Hicks  and  Doughty 
streets.  Jacob  M.  (generally  called  "  Spitter"  Hicks,  from  the 
habit  he  had  of  constantly  expectorating)  resided  in  the  old 
mansion  above  referred  to,  on  the  wide  front  stoop  of  which  he 
could  often  be  seen  sitting  and  enjoying  the  grateful  shade  of  the 
venerable  willows,  looking  placidly  upon  the  passing  travel,  little 
dreaming,  perhaps,  of  the  improvements  which  were  soon  to 
change  the  entire  aspect  of  the  farm,  and  leave  nought  recognizable 
of  it,  except  the  old  pump,  (on  present  Hicks  street,  near  the  corner 
of  Fulton),  ever  to  be  remembered  as  furnishing  the  villagers, 
"  from  time  immemorial "  with  the  best  and  purest  drinking 
water  to  be  found  in  Brooklyn.  As  will  be  seen  by  reference  to 
fig.  5,  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry,  in  the  first  volume,  the  old  house 
stood  angling  to  the  main  road  ;  and,  when  Hicks  street  was  finally 
fully  opened  to  Fulton  street,  the  mansion  fell  before  the  inexora- 
ble fiat  of  the  surveyor's  level  and  chain.  The  Hicks'  estate,  as 
will  be  seen  from  Map  "  B,"  (and,  also,  Map  "  A,"  where  it  is 
designated  by  the  large  figure  2)  comprised  no  small  portion  of 
"  Clover  Hill,"  as  Brooklyn  Heights  were  then  termed.  Tradi- 
tion says,  that  the  whole  of  this  hill  between  Poplar,  Hicks, 
Orange  and  Furman  streets  was  used,  during  the  revolutionary 


niSTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  55 

war  as  a  butying  ground  for  British  soldiers  and  sailor.-,  and  was 
thickly  covered  with  graves,  which  were  all  levelled  oif  when  the 
llickses  took  possession  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Some  years  before  the  incorporation  of  the  village,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  a  dispute  between  the  llickses  and  their  neighbor 
Aert  Middagh  as  to  the  boundary  Hue  between  their  respective 
properties,  the  two  estates  were  surveyed  by  Mr.  Jeremiah  Lott, 
of  Flatbush,  then  the  leading,  if  not  the  only,  surveyor  in  Kings 
county.  He  surveyed  and  plotted  the  two  estates  in  blocks  two 
hundred  feet  square  and  "  two  feet  thrown  in  for  good  measure  " 
to  each  block.  When  the  village  of  Brooklyn  was  incorporated, 
in  1816,  Mr.  Lott,  who  was  employed  to  prepare  a  map  of  the 
same,  proposed  to  carry  out  his  survey,  on  the  same  scale  as  that 
of  his  previous  plotting  of  these  two  estates.  Mr.  Hezekiah  B. 
Pierrepont,  whose  large  property  on  the  Heights  was  also  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  proposed  survey,  wished  to  prevent  this 
wasteful  plan,  and  to  secure  one  with  wider  streets  (they  were 
only  forty  feet  wide)  and  larger  blocks.  He,  therefore,  employed, 
at  his  own  expense,  a  competent  Englishman,  Thomas  Poppleton 
by  name,  who  was  a  city  surveyor  of  New  York,  to  make  a  plan 
for  laying  out  the  Heights.  Poppleton  surveyed  all  the  village, 
from  Fulton  street  to  Jerolemon's  lane,  and  made  a  map,  still  in 
existence,  upon  which  all  the  streets,  and  the  buildings,  wharves, 
etc.,  which  then  existed,  were  laid  down  with  great  accuracy.  On 
this  map  he  laid  out  all  the  ground  south  of  the  Hicks  and 
Middagh  estates  at  Clark  street,1  in  blocks  four  hundred  and  five 
hundred  feet  long,  with  streets  fifty  and  sixty  feet  wide,  and  this 

1  With  characteristic  energy  and  determination  to  succeed  in  whatever  he  under- 
took, Mr.  Pierrepont  induced  Mr.  Joel  Bunce  to  purchase  all  the  land  he  could,  and 
as  far  as  he  could,  on  that  street.  Mr.  Bunce,  therefore,  purchased  as  far  as  Cran- 
berry street,  and  Hicks  street  was  accordingly  laid  out  to  that  point,  fifty  feet  wide, 
according  to  the  Poppleton  plan.  Having  thus  accomplished  his  purpose,  Mr. 
Pierrepont  sold  out  at  an  early  day.  The  matter  is  thus  referred  to  in  his  diary. 
under  date  of  "March  30, 1816.  Mr.  Joel  Bunce,  at  my  instance,  bought  thirty  six 
lots  on  Hicks  street,  for  £15  ($75)  each,  he  to  choose  eight,  the  residue  for  my  use." 
May,  5th,  1817,  as  we  learn  from  the  same  diary,  Hicks  street  was  inn  and  staked 
by  Mr.  Poppleton,  Mr.  Pierrepont  having,  in  the  meantime  purchased  the  De  Bevoise 
farm,  between  the  Hicks's  estate  and  his  own. 


56  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

plan,  fortunately  for  Brooklyn,  was  adopted  for  that  part  of  the 
village  south  of  Clark  street.  At  first,  the  Hickses  poohed  at 
what  they  considered  Mr.  Pierrepont's  visionary  plans;  but,  when, 
in  due  course  of  time,  they  saw  the  superior  class  of  purchasers 
which  his  property  secured,  and  the  many  advantages  it  presented, 
they  began  to  appreciate  his  foresight,  and,  were  candid 
enough  to  say  so.  Moreover,  they  abandoned  the  old  stone-house, 
which  they  had  so  long  occupied,  and  moving  up  Hicks  street 
near  to  Clark,  built  there  handsome  houses  for  themselves,  on  the 
line  of  their  old  estate,  and  where  they  could  enjoy  the  pleasanter 
surroundings  due  to  their  Yankee  neighbor's  broader  streets,  etc.1 
After  leaving  the  Hicks'  mansion  and  garden  we  pass  the  places 
of  Mrs.  Thomas,  who  kept  green-groceries,  candy  and  yeast  and 
was  succeeded  in  the  same  business,  by  Mrs.  Flowers ;  of  John 
Cole,  carriage  maker,  a  very  nice  and  highly  respected  old  gentle- 
man, the  grandfather  of  the  present  Mr.  James  Cole,  auctioneer ; 
of  Gilbert  Reid,  saddler,  a  most  worthy  citizen;  of  John  Mc- 
Kenney,  coachmaker  (afterwards  occupied  by  John  G-ildersleeve, 
in  the  same  business),  a  very  excellent,  industrious  man  and  an 
active  Freemason.  He  discharged  the  functions  of  collector  and 
constable  in  the  town  and  village  form  any  years ;  and  in  these 
offices  he  acquired  considerable  celebrity;  then  Mrs.  Johnson's 
fruit  and  candy  shop  ;  John  Bergen's  shoe  shop,  subsequently 
Abraham  Van  Nostrand's,  and  this  last  brings  us  to  "  Buckbee's 
Alley"  now  "  Poplar  Place,"  the  history  of  which  we  have  given 
on  page  378  of  our  first  volume.  Buckbee's  store  was  on  the 
easterly  corner  (Map  a,  40),  now  occupied  by  "  old  Harry  "  Russel's 


1  John  M.  Hicks  built  upon  the  corner  of  Hicks  and  Clark,  and  his  brother  Jacob 
M.,  on  the  corner  of  Hicks  and  Pine-apple  streets.  Both  houses  are  yet  standing, 
somewhat  modernized,  and  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  the  former  (No.  99  Hicks) 
being  the  residence  of  Mr.  Hippolyte  Mali,  and  the  latter  (No.  90  Hicks)  that  of  Mr. 
Thomas  P.  Hurlbut.  Jacob  Middagh  (for  both  brothers  bore  their  mother's  maiden 
name  as  their  own  middle  name)  Hicks,  had  a  son,  Edwin,  and  two  daughters,  one 
of  whom  married  Commodore  S.  H.  Stringham,  U.  S.  N.,  and  the  other  James  Hurl- 
but,  of  the  firm  of  E.  D.  Hurlbut  &  Co.,  merchants  of  New  York.  John  M.  Hicks' 
children  were  a  son,  Edgar,  who  died  in  early  manhood,  and  four  daughters  who 
married,  respectively,  James  S.  Clarke,  Newbury  Hewlett,  Whitehead  Cornell  and 
Hippolyte  Mali. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  ."7 

ale  shop.  Directly  in  front  of  the  store  was  the  hay  scales,  upon 
which  fanners,  coming  to  the  ferry  to  sell  their  hay,  could  drive; 
their  loads  and  have  them  weighed  ;  and,  at  one  time,  upon  the 

top  of  the   hayscalcs,  was  hung  the  town's  fire-bell.     Buckl 

sold  very  poor  liquor,  and  himself  and  customers  were  no  orna- 
ment to  the  society  of  the  village. 

Next  to  him  was  the  long,  two-story  house  (Map  a,  41)  of 
Ogilvie,  the  cooper ;  then  (Map  a,  42)  Stephen  S.  Voris's  (formerly 
John  Middagh's)  hat  store,  and  next,  on  the  corner  of  the  present 
Henry  and  Fulton  street  (Map  a,  43,  and  fig.  6,  "  Map  of  Brook- 
land  Ferry,"  page  311,  first  volume)  the  old  Middagh  mansion, 
at  this  time  occupied  by  Aert  Middagh,  the  hatter.  It  waa  a 
very  ancient  two-story  frame  edifice,  with  high  stoop,  and  a  front 
door  opening  (by  horizontal  section,  forming  an  upper  and  lower 
half)  into  a  wide,  generous  hall.  It  stood  angling  to  the  road, 
and  when  Fulton  street  was  widened,  was  moved  back  to  the 
present  line  of  that  street.  It  was  afterwards  (about  1840)  leased 
by  Mr.  James  W.  Peck,  the  hatter,  who  raised  it  up  and  placed 
three  stores  under  it.  In  October,  1850,  that  part  of  the  build- 
ing on  the  corner  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  other  half  yet 
remains,  retaining  some  of  its  old  fashioned  appearance,  as  I. 
D.  McClasky's  liquor  store,  No.  92  Fulton  street.  Mrs.  Sarah 
Middagh,  wife  of  Aert,  was  a  most  excellent  woman,  whose 
memory  is  intimately  associated  with  the  early  history  of  St. 
Ann's  Episcopal  church,  of  which  she  was  an  honored  member. 
Their  eldest  daughter,  Magdalen,  married  Samuel  B.,  son  of 
Joshua  Sands  ;  and  after  his  death  she  became  the  wife  of  Joshua 
March,  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  March,  of  March  &  Benson,  wine 
merchants,  of  New  York.  Another  daughter,  Mrs.  William  E. 
Gracie,  is  now  living  in  this  city. 

In  the  rear  of  the  mansion,  on  present  corner  of  Henry  and 
Poplar  streets,  was  the  Middagh  barn,  (Map  of  Brookland  Ferry, 
first  volume,  Fig.  7),  where,  for  a  time,  the  Episcopalians  of 
Brooklyn  held  their  meetings.  It  was  occupied  for  awhile,  by 
Elizur  Tompkins,  and  then  by  Mr.  D.  S.  Quimby,  who  subse- 
quently built  a  brick  building  upon  this  corner,  having  carried 
on  the  stove  and   range  business  here   for  nearly  thirty   year-. 


58  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

We  are  fortunately  enabled  to  present  our  readers  with  a  view 
of  the  old  mansion  and  barn,  as  they  appeared  about  1843  or 
'44,  taken  from  a  painting  made  by  the  late  James  W.  Peck,  Jr., 
son  of  James  W.  Peck,  the  well  known  hatter,  who,  for  so  many 
years,  has  occupied  the  opposite  corner,  98  Fulton  street,  where  his 
sons  still  continue  the  business.  The  old  pump,  seen  in  the  picture, 
was  removed,  and  the  well  filled  up  during  the  summer  of  1868. 

On  the  present  site  of  Peck's  hat  store  (Map  a,  44),  on  the 
easterly  corner  of  Henry  and  Fulton  streets,  was  a  two-story 
frame  house,  occupied  by  the  widow  of  Dirck  Amerman,  the 
ferryman,  who  died  during  the  yellow  fever  season  of  1809. 
Their  son,  John  W.  Amerman,  a  well  known  printer  in  New 
York  city,  is  now  a  resident  of  Brooklyn. 

Adjoining  Mrs.  Amerman's  was  a  similar  building,  owned  by 
sheriff  Wyckoff,  and  in  which  our  esteemed  fellow  citizen  Judge 
Dikeman,  first  "  put  out  his  shingle,"  as  a  lawyer;  shortly  there- 
after succeeding  old  Mr.  Barkeloo,  as  clerk  to  the  trustees  of  the 
village. 

Between  this  and  Middagh  street,  was  leased  property,  belong- 
ing to  the  Middagh  estate,  and  occupied  by  some  small  frame 
tenements,  only  one  of  which  challenges  our  attention,  a  neat, 
genteel,  little  house,  standing  back  from  the  road,  about  fifty  feet 
westerly  of  Middagh  street.  Here  lived  Mr.  James  Harper,  the 
grandfather  of  the  well  known  publishers  "  Harper  Brothers," 
a  very  excellent  man,  and  for  many  years,  treasurer  of  the  first 
Methodist  church  in  the  village.  The  building  was  built  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Kirk  for  his  printing  office,  and  was  occupied  as  such, 
after  his  failure,  by  Mr.  George  L.  Birch,  editor  of  the  Patriot. 

On  the  corner  of  Middagh  andFulton  streets,  stood  the  little  dwell- 
ing of  St.  Clair,  the  stocking-weaver,  said  to  be  the  first  to  introduce 
into  the  United  States,  the  knitting  of  stockings  by  machinery. 

Northerly  side  of  the  Old  Road  [Fulton  street),  from  Front  street 
to  Sands. 

On  the  north-east  corner  of  Front  street  and  the  Old  road, 
(Map  A,  39)  was  the  large  and  very  old  frame  building,  originally 
Kirk  &  Mercein's  printing  office,  prior  to  their  removal  to  New 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  ;,., 

York,  about  1813  or  '14.  It  was  next  occupied  as  a  hardware 
store  by  Thomas  W.  Birdsall  and  Joel  Bunce;  and  its  portrait  at 
this  period  has  been  faithfully  preserved  (No.  1)  in  Guy's  "  Snow 
Scene  of  Brooklyn,  in  1820."  It  was,  also,  for  many  years  the 
post-office  —  Mr.  Bunce,  and  after  him  in  1819,  Mr.  Birdsall,  being 
post-master.  At  a  later  period  it  became  the  property  of  the  Cou- 
venhoven  family  of  New  Lotts ;  was  occupied,  for  several  years,  by 
Sylvanus  B.  Stillwell's  tailor  shop,  and,  about  1830,  was  supplanted 
by  brick  buildings  erected  by  the  Brooklyn  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany. Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  new  building  of  the 
Brooklyn  Union  newspaper. 

First  above  BirdsalPs  corner  was  the  residence  of  Abiel  Titus 
(Map  a,  45),  a  small  frame  dwelling,  with  a  narrow  front  on  Fulton 
street,  and  not  shown  in  Guy's  picture.  Titus  is  represented  in 
that  picture  as  feeding  his  chickens  in  the  gateway  of  the  yard 
between  his  house  and  his  barn  and  slaughter-house.  He  was 
said  to  have  espoused  the  loyalist  side  during  the  revolution,  and 
was  servant  to  a  major  in  the  British  army  ;  and,  in  after  life, 
carried  on  the  trade  of  a  butcher.  In  1828,  ¥ra.  J.  Dodge  and 
Nathaniel  F.  Waring,  Esqs.,  leased  a  lot,  18  by  20  feet,  on  the  site 
of  this  yard,  at  a  ground  rent  of  $80,  which,  in  those  days,  was 
considered  an  extravagant  figure,  and  on  which  they  erected  a 
small  brick  building,  the  first  ever  put  up  on  this  side  of  Front 
street  between  Fulton  and  James.  Here  Mr.  Waring  opened  his 
law-office.  Subsequently,  a  building  called  "  The  Mechanics 
Exchange"  was  put  up,  fronting  the  old  pump  seen  in  Guy's 
picture,  and  this,  somewhat  remodeled,  was  occupied  by  the 
Brooklyn  Union  office,  previous  to  the  completion  of  its  new  edifiec, 
on  the  corner  of  Fulton  street. 

Next  to  Titus',  was  a  large,  one  and  a  half-story  house  (No.  2, 
Guy's  picture)  built  of  small  yellow  bricks,  and  possessing  the 
indubitable  appearance  of  very  great  antiquity.  It  is  represented 
on  the  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry,  page  311,  first  volume,  as  the 
first  house  on  Fulton  street,  easterly  from  the  line  of  Front  street; 
with  a  garden  between  it  and  that  street  and  with  another  smaller 
building  at  the  rear  of  the  lot,  on  what  is  now  James  street.  This 
property  was  a  portion  of  the  John  Rapalje  estate  (Vol.  i,  78),  and 


60  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

was  sold  by  C.  &  J.  Sands  to  Abiel  Titus,  who  occupied  the  old 
mansion),  and  kept  a  sort  of  livery  stable  in  the  building  on  James 
street),  until  he  had  built  the  small  frame  dwelling,  next  to  the 
Birdsall  corner.  "We  are  inclined  to  believe,  from  all  the  data 
ascertainable,  that  the  old  building  was  the  original  John  Rapalje 
homestead.1  It  is,  moreover,  interesting  to  us  as  having  been  the 
scene  of  occasional  religious  services  of  the  Episcopal  order,  during 
the  occupation  of  Brooklyn  by  the  British ;  and  may,  perhaps,  be 
considered  as  the  first  of  the  many  resting  places  in  Brooklyn 
in  which  that  particular  ark  of  the  covenant  tarried,  before  it 
finally,  after  many  buffetings,  took  unto  itself  a  local  habitation 
and  a  name  as  "  St.  Ann's."  Nor,  must  we  forget  to  mention,  that 
in  one  side  of  this  ancient  house,  in  the  early  village  days,  was 
Ansel  Titus's  wheelwright  shop ;  and,  in  the  other,  Mrs.  Eagles' 
candy  shop.  This  somewhat  remarkable  female,  rejoiced  in  the 
soubriquet  of  "  The  American  Heroine,"  from  a  current  tradition 
that  she  had  once  worn  a  uniform,  and  seen  service  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  She  was  a  little,  squat,  "  snapping-eyed  "  woman, 
always  wore  a  red  and  white  plaid  turban,  and,  to  the  great 
delectation  of  the  village,  "bossed  it"  most  tyrannically,  over  her 
husband  Jacob,  a  tall,  lank,  easy-going  man,  who  called  himself 
a  grocer.  Mrs.  Eagles  was  succeeded,  after  a  while,  by  Mrs.  Burnet 
(wife  of  Martin  Burnet,  wheelwright),  whose  portrait  is  preserved 
in  Guy's  picture  (fig.  26),  and  who,  in  addition  to  candies,  kept 

1  We  consider  this  to  be  "  the  old  brick  house  "  which,  according  to  Gen.  Jeremiah 
Johnson's  manuscript,  was  built  by  John  Rapalje,  "  on  the  corner  formed  by  the 
Mill  road  (now  Front  street)  and  the  King's  highway,  now  Fulton  street.  This 
Mill  road  ran  through  Rapalje'sland  toward  the  meadow,  where  it  turned  northerly, 
and  ran  on,  or  near,  the  present  line  of  Gold  street,  until  it  came  to  a  hill,  where  it 
turned  easterly  and  entered  the  Remsen  farm  by  a  swinging-gate,  near  which  was  a 
red  cedar  tree,  a  dividing  landmark."  As  will  be  seen,  from  note  1,  page  52,  of  this 
volume,  in  1776  a  public  road  ran  along  Rapalje's  house  and  garden,  from  the  main 
road  to  the  East  river.  It  was  closed  during  the  revolutionary  war,  by  Loosely  & 
Elms,  who  kept  tavern  at  the  Corporation  house.  It  was  closed  when  Comfort 
Sands  became  the  owner  of  the  square  between  Fisher  street  and  the  said  road,  and 
by  him  and  the  corporation  it  was  kept  closed,  and  so  remains  to  this  day.  Rapalje, 
in  1776,  "  fenced  in  a  part  of  his  land,  and  turned  the  travel  on  this  new  road  into 
the  Mill  road  (now  Front  street),  and  along  the  same  into  the  Jamaica  road  (Fulton 
street),  near  his  old  brick  house." 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  61 

that  sm  qua  non  of  every  civilized  community,  "a  thread   and 

needle  shop." 

Adjoining  this  old  house  was  ashed  (formerly  a  habitation),  but 
now  a  mere  adjunct  to  Edward  Coope's  blacksmith  shop,  which 
stood  next  (Xo.  3,  Guy's  picture,  his  residence  being  at  James 
street,  Xo.  8,  same  picture).  Then  we  come  to  George  Frickes' 
carriage  shop  (No.  4,  Guy's  picture).  Then,  directly  opposite  Hicks 
street,  was  a  small  brick  building  (Guy's  picture,  Xo.  5),  at  one 
time,  the  residence  of  Diana  Rapalje,  without  some  notice  of 
whom  no  history  of  Brooklyn  would  be  complete. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Garret  Rapalje  and  a  descendant  of  the  first 
white  female  child  born  in  New  Netherland.  In  early  life  a  favorite  in  the 
presidential  circles  at  Washington,  she  was,  in  her  later  days  (we  will  not 
say  decline,  for  her  bearing  was  erect  and  firm  to  the  last),  a  stately  exhibitor 
of  the  fashions  of  '76 ;  and,  as  was  natural,  from  her  earlier  associations,  con- 
siderable of  a  politician  in  her  peculiar  way.  Her  erratic  doings,  from 
middle  age  to  the  close  of  life,  indicated  that  moderate  form  of  insanity  which 
is  termed  eccentricity;  and  which,  in  her  case,  manifested  itself  in  many 
absurd,  amusing,  and  (to  those  concerned  in  litigation  with  her),  troublesome 
forms.  It  was  said  that  she  had  loved  and  had  been  disappointed,  and  that, 
from  that  time,  pride  and  self-reliance  drove  her  to  seclusion  and  made  her 
disrespectful  of  the  customs  and  usages  of  society,  in  many  minor  points. 
Yet,  in  certain  matters  of  etiquette,  no  queen  could  be  more  haughty. 

"  Her  house,"  says  Alden  J.  Spooner,  Esq..  in  a  pleasant  chapter  of  remin- 
iscences in  the  Evening  Post,  June  27th,  1868, Ci  passed  for  haunted.  It  was 
a  great  trial-point  of  courage  to  pass  by  this  house,  and  few  boys  were  bold 
enough  to  stand  over  the  way  at  night  and  look  up  at  it.  The  utmost  ex- 
pected from  small  boys  of  reasonable  pluck,  was,  that  they  should  race  past 
in  a  close  huddle  for  mutual  protection,  and  look  back  furtively  over  the 
shoulder.  When  at  some  distance,  the  frightened  herd  would  stop  and 
fearfully  look  back.  Almost  all  saw  something  floating  over  or  around  the 
the  house,  shadowy  and  peculiar,  of  the  traditionary  white,  and  it  bore  the 
form  of  a  woman.  On  one  or  two  occasions  I  would  be  sworn  I  saw  the 
spectre  sitting  on  the  top  of  the  house,  and  I  am  willing  to  swear  it  now, 
but  I  came,  afterwards,  to  know  that  the  ghosts  which  frightened  the  boys 
and  me  were  Diana's  self,  who  had  a  habit  of  sitting  on  the  roof  on  summer 
nights  for  the  sensible  purpose  of  cooling  herself.  The  ancient  and  respected 
family  of  the  Rapaljes  long  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  having  produced  the 


62  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

first-born  white  child  on  Long  Island ;  and  by  boys,  who  care  nothing  about 
dates,  Diana  was  supposed  to  be  this  very  person.  To  be  sure,  this  supposi- 
tion would  make  her  upwards  of  two  centuries  old,  but,  to  the  boys,  there 
was  nothing  impossible  with  Diana.  She  had  always  been  about  the  same 
person  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant. 

"She  traversed  the  then  village  of  Brooklyn,  here  and  there  picking  up 
now  a  chip  to  light  her  fire,  and  then  a  codfish  from  the  cheapest  store  to 
replenish  her  kettle.  These  she  would  deposit  in  her  ample  Dutch  pockets, 
and  march  through  the  streets  with  the  tail  of  the  fish  waving  in  the  rear. 

"  Once,  in  crossing  the  Brooklyn  ferry  some  ladies  were  excessively  startled, 
and  sprang  from  their  seats  in  frightful  apprehension.  A  snake  was  seen 
wriggling  upon  the  floor.  Diana  witnessed  the  alarm  with  supreme  con- 
tempt and  soon  relieved  it.  '  It  is  only  one  of  my  eels,'  said  she,  pulling 
some  others  from  her  pocket,  which  she  had  bought  in  Fly  Market,  and 
whose  comrade  was  attempting  an  escape.  It  is  needless  to  say  she  restored 
him  to  her  eelymosynary  receptacle. 

"At  another  time  the  clarion  tones  of  chanticleer  came  from  the  bosom  of 
the  same  dignified  lady  sitting  smoothly  erect  in  the  same  cabin.  Lest 
people  might  suppose  she  was  exercising  her  own  lungs  upon  the  chromatic 
scale,  she  opened  her  shawl  and  exposed  a  roystering  bird  of  the  genus 
rooster,  which  she  informed  the  company  was  intended  for  chicken  soup. 

"  To  save  the  expense,  she  laid  down  the  cobble  stones  in  front  of  her  resi- 
dence with  her  own  fair  hands.  To  a  friend  who  afterwards  reproached  her 
with  '  How  could  you  do  it  V  she  replied  :  '  Nobody  recognized  me ;  1  did 
it  with  my  back  to  the  street.'  This  seems  to  be  a  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  most  persons  passed  on  the  other  side  of  the  way." 

Her  sister  married  John  Fisher,  and  a  few  months  after  her  decease,  in 
March,  1824,  he  married  Diana.  Both  sisters  had  been  distinguished,  in 
early  life,  for  their  beauty  and  accomplishments,  and  were  recognized  belles, 
not  only  on  Long  Island,  but  in  the  best  circles  of  New  York  and  Washing- 
ton. John  Fisher  was  a  Hessian  "  redeniptioner," ]  who  came  to  Brooklyn 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  in  such  an  abject  condition  of 
poverty  that,  it  is  said,  the  supervisors  seriously  discussed  the  propriety  of 
allowing  him  to  remain  in  the  place  lest  he  should  become  a  burden  on  the 
town.  Their  fears,  however,  were  groundless,  for  John  was  industrious  and 
shrewd,    and,  little   by  little,  amassed    considerable  money  and  with  it   a 

1 A  name  applied  to  those  emigrants  who,  being  too  poor  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
their  transportation  to  America,  were  bound  out  to  service,  for  a  specified  time,  after 
their  arrival,  to  those  persons  who  were  willing  to  defray  the  indebtedness. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN  gg 

better  social  position.  He  was  a  communicant  in  the  Episcopal  church 
(St.  Ann's)  of  which  he  was  said  to  be  the  politest  member,  his  pew  being 
ever  open  to  strangers.  He,  also,  erected  the  three  brick  buildings  in  Front 
street  (Nos.  9,  11, 13),  at  a  time  when  such  erections  were  a  noticeable  improve- 
ment in  Brooklyn.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  to  Diana  Rapalje,  he  was 
old,  paralytic  and  imbecile,  and  some  occurrences  took  place  afterwards, 
which  constitute  a  part  of  the  romance  of  the  Kings  Co.  Surrogate's  office, 
and  Chancery  reports.  After  his  decease,  in  June,  1827,  she  married  the 
Hon.  Lemuel  Sawyer,  of  North  Carolina,  and  who  represented  that  state  in 
congress.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  literary  ability,  the  author  of 
"  Wall  street,  or  a  Quarter  before  Three,"  an  excellent  farce  which  met 
with  much  success  at  the  Old  Park  Theatre  in  New  York  j  but  possessed 
neither  means,  health,  nor  business  tact.  The  marriage,  however,  was  one 
of  those  which  are  regulated  more  by  prudential  considerations  than  by 
affection.  Sawyer  was  in  much  need  of  money ;  so  he  matched  his  family 
against  her  wealth;  while  Diana's  avowed  reason  for  her  choice  was  that 
"  Sawyer  was  a  lawyer  and  she  wanted  a  man  to  match  James  B.  Clarke"1 
The  parties  subsequently  maintained  merely  the  outside  appearance  of  dip- 
lomatic courtesy,  seasoned  occasionally  with  litigation  concerning  bits  and 
scraps  of  property.  They  lived  apart,  she  residing  in  one  of  the  Fisher 
houses  (No.  13),  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Dock  streets,  and  on  its  door- 
step frequently  sat  the  "  Virginia  Honorable,"  her  husband,  clad  in  a  di- 
lapidated and  faded  plaid  cloak,  having  been  driven  out  of  paradise  by  the 
angel  who  sometimes  appeared  at  the  door,  waving  her  flaming  —  tongue. 
She  died,  January  30,  1849,  in  her  eighty-second  year,  and  was  buried  in 
Greenwood. 


Diana  Bapalje's  house  was  afterwards  purchased  by  Col.  Alden 
Spooner,  who  occupied  it  as  a  residence  and  as  the  printing  office 
of  the  Star.2 

*One  of  her  first  husband's  (John  Fisher's)  sisters,  Eleanor,  married  James  B. 
Clarke,  Esq.,  and  another,  Marie,  married  Peter  Clarke.  Upon  the  death  of  Fisher 
liis  will  was  contested  by  the  Clarkes,  although  without  success. 

2 In  one  of  these  buildings,  nearly  opposite  Hicks  street,  it  is  said  on  credible 
authority,  that  Talleyrand,  the  eminent  French  diplomatist,  resided  awhile,  during 
his  stay  in  America.  It  is  related  of  him  that  he  frequently  jumped  into  the  market- 
wagons  as  they  passed  along" the  road  on  their  way  home  and  thus  made  excursions 
into  Flatbush,  Gravesend,  and  the  other  county  towns  around  Brooklyn.  He  is, 
also,  said  to  have  been  the  introducer,  into  this  country,  of  the  Russia  turnip. 


64  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Next  above  stood  an  old  yellow  frame  dwelling,  its  stoop 
furnished  with  seats  on  either  side  of  the  front  door,  occupied  by 
John  Doughty,  so  long  and  honorably  known  as  town  clerk  and 
chief  of  the  village  fire  department. 

De  Voe  (Historical Magazine,  Second  Series,  ii,  342)  says  "he had  received 
a  liberal  education,  and  began  business  with  his  father  in  the  Fly  Market, 
about  the  period  of  the  revolution."1  When,  in  1785,  a  fire  company 
was  formed  in  Brooklyn  "  John  Doughty,  Jr.,  who  was  of  an  active  turn  of 
mind,  with  his  time  not  wholly  occupied  with  business,  was  elected  one  of 

1 "  He  was  a  small  meat  butcher,  having  a  stand  in  the  Fly  Market,  New  York, 
opposite  that  of  his  friend  and  fellow  townsman  John  Garrison ;  and  he,  also,  had  a 
stand  in  the  old  village  market,  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  street. 

"  Concerning  his  ancestry;  we  find,  about  the  year  1760,  John  Doughty,  Senior,  with 
several  other  Brooklyn  and  New  York  butchers  petitioning  the  corporation  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  '  to  oblige  Mr.  Nicholas  Bayard  (the  lessee  of  the  public  Slaughter- 
house) to  keep  it  in  order,  as  well  as  to  arrange  the  regulations  that  all  could  be 
accommodated,  or  else  to  indulge  the  petitioners  with  the  privilege  of  erecting  their 
own  buildings,  in  such  places  as  they  shall  provide  and  which  this  corporation  shall 
approve  of.' "     The  latter  clause,  at  least,  was  not  granted  to  them. 

"  The  object  of  the  Brooklyn  butchers  in  signing  this  petition,  at  that  period,  appears 
to  have  been,  that  Long  Island  did  not  wholly  produce  a  supply  of  live  stock  for 
the  markets  of  New  York  ;  besides,  in  certain  seasons,  the  East  river  became  closed 
with  ice,  or  heavy  fogs,  or  storms,  when  it  was  as  much  as  they  could  accomplish  to 
get  passengers  across ;  to  say  nothing  of  cattle  or  teams,  which  occasionally  were 
waiting  for  weeks  before  they  could  be  passed  over  the  river  with  safety.  Again,  a 
scarcity  of  cattle  would  sometimes  send  the  butchers  traveling  through  the  other 
counties  of  the  province,  to  purchase  stock  —  this  was  before  drovers  were  in  exist- 
ence—  which  were  driven  down  to  the  city,  where  in  this  objectionable  public 
building,  the  butchers  were  obliged  to  prepare  their  meats. 

"  Doughty  continued  in  the  Fly  Market  during  the  revolution,  assisted  by  his  son, 
John,  where,  for  a  period,  we  lose  sight  of  him. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  suppose  that  John  Doughty,  Senior,  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  and  a  son  of  Charles  Doughty,  Senior,  who  joined  the  society  about  the 
year  1730.  This  Charles  Doughty  was  proposed  by  some  friends  in  a  document,  now 
in  my  possession,  which  reads  as  follows  :  '  And  at  ye  request  of  Robert  Murrey,  a 
liver  in  this  place  I  have  to  say  that  he  has  exprest  his  desire  to  come  under  ye  notice 
of  Friends  for  near  twelve  months  in  and  before  which  time  he  hath  frequented  our 
meetings,  and  been  of  a  pretty  orderly  conversation,  as  far  as  we  know,  which  we 
refer  to  your  consideration,  also  there  are  two  men  at  York  Ferry  who  have  in  like 
manner  behaved  and  desire  to  come  under  Friends  notice  if  Friends  think  proper, 
their  names  are  Charles  Doughty  and  Samuel  Hicks.' "  De  Voe  {Hist.  Mag.,  Second 
Series,  ii,  342). 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLI  N.  <;;, 

its  seven  members.  This  fire  company  afterward-  became  known  as  Wash- 
ington   Company,    N«».   1.      In  this  company   he   served   eight   years.     In 

L790,  he  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  tlnv.   a >ra  for  the  town,  and 

continued  in  this  office  three  years  in  succession.  In  IT'.Mi.  he  was  placed 
in  the  responsible  position  of  town  clerk,  which  office  he  held  Mar  after 
year,  for  the  Bpaoe  of  thirty-four  years,  and  gave  general  satisfaction."     On 

the  4th  of  March,  1797,  John  Doughty  manumitted  and  set  free  his  i 
man.  Caesar  Foster,  aged  about  twenty-eight  years,  the  first  recorded  act 
of  manumission  from  which  dated  the  movement  of  practical  emancipation 
which  resulted  (by  about  the  year  1825)  in  the  removal  of  the  entire  institu- 
tion of  slavery  from  the  city  of  Brooklyn.1  As  town  clerk  he  witnessed  and 
recorded  more  manumissions  from  slavery  than  any  other  person  in  the  town, 
:;  and.  in  fact,  the  duties  of  his  office  about  this  period  required  a  greater 
portion  of  his  time,"  as  the  ';  act  for  the  judicial  abolition  of  slavery."  was 
passed  in  the  month  of  March,  1799.  after  which  time  all  the  births  and  names 
of  the  children  of  slaves  were  ordered  to  be  recorded  in  the  books  of  the  town 
clerk.  The  various  duties  imposed  upon  Doughty  continued  to  increase  very 
fast,  and  as  the  public  duties  could  not  be  neglected,  it  occasionally  became 
quite  onerous  to  him,  as  his  daily  business  at  the  market  called  him  before 
daylight  and  usually  ended  at  noon;  then  the  crossing  of  the  ferry,  followed 
with  a  hasty  meal,  when  official  or  other  duties  began,  which  sometimes 
kept  him  constantly  employed,  even  unto  the  midnight  hour.  Four  hours 
duty,  from  ten  to  two,  did  not  then,  as  now,  constitute  an  official  day's  work  j 
but  the  business  daily  presenting  itself,  was  daily  attended  to ;  and  Doughty 
performed  all  the  required  services  satisfactorily.     In  1812,  the  duties  of 


•An  interesting  list  of  manumissions  by  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  from  1797  to 
1825,  taken  from  the  records  of  the  city  clerk's  office,  is  given  by  Hon.  T.  G.  Bergen, 
in  Manual  of  Common  Council  of  Brooklyn,  for  1864,  pp.  153,  1G5),  from  which  "it 
would  seem  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  owned  slaves 
at  this  time.  From  the  manner  in  which  manumission  was  effected,  it  would  seem 
that  precautions  were  taken  by  the  local  authorities  against  the  slaves  liberated 
under  the  act  becoming  paupers  and  chargeable  upon  the  public,  beyond  any 
prescribed  in  the  act  itself.  Thus  the  manumission  of  any  slave  must  be  approved 
by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  who  specified  in  their  certificate  that  the  slave  was 
under  fifty  years  of  age,  and  was  likely  to  be  self-supporting.  It  is  to  be  inferred, 
therefore,  that  the  manumission  of  slaves  over  that  age,  or  such  as  were  decrepit  or 
incapable  of  providing  for  themselves,  was  not  permitted.  Under  the  provisions  of 
the  act  (of  29th  March,  1799),  as  carried  out  without  any  apparent  reluctance  on  the 
part  of  the  citizens  interested,  the  institution  gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly 
disappeared." 

9 


QQ  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

overseer  of  the  highway  was  placed  upon  Doughty ;  and  again,  in  1819." 
In  1812,  he  was  a  "  fire  engineer,"  being  also  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  fire 
department;  and  when  the  office  of  chief  engineer  was  established,  in  1816, 
was  chosen  the  first  incumbent,  which  he  resigned  the  next  year.  From 
1821  to  1823,  he  again  occupied  the  position  j  and  when  an  act  was  passed  in- 
corporating the  department,  he  was  unanimously  chosen  president.  In  1801, 
he  was  one  of  the  school  committee  for  "the  Ferry  district,"  and  held  the 
office  several  years,  becoming  clerk  of  District  School  No.  1,  upon  its  organ- 
ization in  1816. 

In  that  year  the  village  of  Brooklyn  was  incorporated  j  and  among  the 
trustees  named  in  the  bill  we  find  Judge  Garrison  and  John  Doughty. 
In  1819,  Doughty  was  again  selected  as  a  trustee;  and  this  office  he  held 
until  1829,  a  portion  of  the  time  as  presiding  officer.  One  year  after 
this,  the  responsible  duties  of  "  collector  of  the  village  "  were  performed 
by  him.  In  fact,  it  may  be  said  that  through  a  long  and  well-spent  life, 
Doughty  held  nearly  all  the  various  positions  of  a  public  and  private 
character  that  belonged  to  the  town  and  village ;  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  performed  these  various  duties  was  amply  illustrated  by  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  townsmen,  who  so  persistently  showered  upon 
him  so  many  services  as  to  bewilder  the  intellect  of  any  but  an  extraordinary 
man. 

In  all  the  various  public  offices  and  professional  attention  to  his  business 
for  a  period  of  over  fifty  years,  he  never  thought  of  gain  to  his  coffers,  but 
was  ever  anxious  to  be  a  public  benefactor,  as  well  as  an  honest,  faithful, 
Christian  man ;  and  with  this  character,  he  yielded  his  spirit  to  his  Maker, 
on  the  sixteenth  of  May,  1832. 

The  authorities,  in  consideration  of  his  great  public  worth,  attached  his 
name  to  one  of  the  streets  in  this  place. 

As  chief  of  the  fire  department  he  displayed  much  energy,  and  the  wide 
hall  of  his  house  was  always  kept  well  hung  with  fire-buckets  —  for,  in 
those  days,  householders  were  compelled  by  law  to  keep  a  certain  number  of 
buckets  in  their  houses,  and  when  an  alarm  of  fire  was  given  every  man 
snatched  down  his  fire-buckets  from  the  pegs  whereon  they  hung  and  scam- 
pered away  with  all  haste ;  or,  if  he  could  not  go  himself,  pitched  them  out 
into  the  street  for  the  use  of  the  first  comer  who  might  pass  on  his  way  to 
the  scene  of  conflagration. 

One  of  his  sons,  John  S.  Doughty,  was,  for  many  years,  treasurer  of  the 
village  and  city,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  cashier  of  the  Atlantic 
Bank  of  Brooklyn. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  r.y 

Mr.  Doughty  was  portly,  dignified  and  peculiarly  neat  in  persona]  appear- 
ance; always  dressing  in  the  old  fashioned  style,  with  shad-bellied  coat 
with  pocket  lappells,  etc. 

Then,  with  a  vacant  lot  intervening,  were  the  two  brick  build- 
ings erected  by  Losee  Van  Xostrand,  brother  of  Mrs.  John  Mid- 
daghj  and  agent  for  the  Middagh  estate;  then  passing  another 
vacant  lot  we  come  to  Mrs.  Middagh's  house,  a  two-story  frame, 
with  double  pitched  roof,  depicted  (Xo.  6)  in  Guy's  picture. 

\Ye  next  come,  on  the  same  side  of  Fulton  street,  where  Market 
street  now  enters  it,  to  a  quaint  and  ancient,  oak-framed,  scallop- 
shingled,  frame  house,  standing  with  its  gable  end  to  the  street  and 
shadowed  by  two  large  and  venerable  locust  trees.  Tradition, 
probably,  does  not  err  in  attributing  its  erection  to  Rem  Jan  sen 
van  der  Beeck,  the  ancestor  of  the  Remsen  family  and  an  early 
settler  here,  where  he  married,  in  1642,  a  daughter  of  Jan  Joris  de 
Rapalje.1  This  old  house,  however,  was  destined  to  acquire  an 
additional  and  peculiar  interest  in  connection  with  the  history  of 
the  village  and  city  which  subsequently  grew  up  around  it.  As 
the  residence  of  Jacob  Patchen,  "the  last  of  the  leather-breeches," 
it  was  the  scene  of  a  memorable  conflict  between  individual  obsti- 
nacy and  old  fogjusm,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  imperative 
necessities  of  public  convenience  and  improvement  on  the  other, 
with  the  usual  result  in  favor  of  the  latter.  And,  as  a  veracious 
chronicler  of  Brooklyn  history,  we  cannot  venture  to  overlook  the 
amusing  episode  of"  the  Patchen  difficulties  "  which  for  so  many 
years  alternately  annoyed  and  diverted  the  inhabitants  of  the  vil- 
lage. 

Jacob  Patchen.  the  hero  of  our  tale,  was  a  native  of  the  village,  and 
was  bred  to  the  business  of  a  tailor.  This,  however,  he  relinquished,  about 
1785,  for  the  more  healthful  occupation  of  a  butcher.  "  Shortly  after  the 
year  1790,"  says  Col.  De  Voe  (in  Historical  Magazine^  second  series,  ii. 
345-6).  "he  was  found  attending  the   Old  Fly  Market,  some  two  or   three 

1  See  Furman's  Notes  (1824),  paffe  7.     The  statement  criven  on  authority  of  a  manu- 
script note  by  Gov.  Jer.  Johnson  in  note  E,  of  the  "  Faust   Qub"reprini  of  Fur- 
Xotes  on  Brooklyn,  is  evidently  incorrect,  both  in  names,  date  and  fact. 


6g  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

times  a  week,  as  a  shirk  or  shark  butcher;  although,  in  a  petition 
dated  August,  1795,  he  states  that  he  <  is  by  trade  a  butcher/  and  has  '  for 
a  number  of  years  been  employed  in  that  business  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  has  long  been  solicitous  to  procure  a  license  for  a  stand  in  the  Fly 
market.  To  obtain  that,  your  petitioner  presented  a  petition  upwards  of  two 
years  since,  but  has  not  yet  been  able  to  procure  the  said  license.'  The  fol- 
lowing persons  l  certify  they  are  acquainted  with  him,  and  know  him  to  be 
an  industrious  and  sober  man/  Cortland  V.  Bueren,  Win.  Treadwell,  Wm. 
C.  Thompson,  Benj.  Gatfield,  Townsend  &  Nostrand,  and  Wm.  Post." 

This  petition  came  before  the  authorities,  who  upon  examination,  became 
satisfied  that  he  had  not  served  a  regular  apprenticeship,  so  as  to  thoroughly 
understand  the  business,  and,  therefore,  was  not  a  competent  person  to  hold 
a  license  from  the  mayor,  as  a  butcher ;  but  he  was  permitted  to  sell  small 
meats,  by  the  quarter,  in  the  country  market;  and  thus  he  continued  for 
two  years. 

After  this  delay,  Patchen  came  to  the  conclusion  to  out-general  the  au- 
thorities by  introducing  a  stall  in  the  lower  Fish  market,  where  he  was 
found  one  winter  morning,  with  a  well  furnished  stall,  ready  for  business. 
The  records  state  that  the  mayor,  in  the  month  of  December,  1798,  announced : 
"  that  he  had  removed  Jacob  Patchen  from  the  market,  because  he  refused 
to  remove  a  stall  by  him  set  up  in  the  Fish  market,  when  required  by  the 
clerk  of  the  market;  which  was  approved  of  by  the  board:"  and  it  was 
only  some  time  after,  that  he  was  permitted  to  sell  meat  again  in  the  Fly 
market. 

An  old  friend  yet  living,  who  became  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Patchen,  at  an  early  period  of  his  life,  thus  speaks  cf  him  :  il  Jacob  Patchen 
was  a  most  remarkable  man;  and  although  strictly  honest,  industrious,  and 
punctual,  he  was  strongly  self-willed  and  persisting,  which,  through  the 
course  of  his  life,  often  brought  him  in  opposition  to  the  laws ;  especially 
when  they  did  not  conform  to  his  peculiar  ideas  of  right,  he  invariably  re- 
sisted their  power  with  his  whole  force.  In  person  he  was  quite  tall,  straight, 
and  well-formed,  with  a  somewhat  expressive  face,  although  it  usually  bore 
a  stern,  rigid,  and  selfish  expression. 

"  He  well  understood  the  business  of  a  small  meat  butcher,  being  an  excel- 
lent judge  of  small  stock,  more  especially  calves,  which,  after  handling,  he 
could  almost  invariably  guess  their  live  weight  within  three  pounds ;  and  he 
thinks  he  was  the  first  butcher  who  introduced  the  system  of  buying  calves, 
which  came  from  Long  Island,  by  weight ;  in  fact  he  would  seldom  buy  in 
any  other  manner. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


69 


"When  easting  up  accounts,  either  in  buying  or  selling,  the  greasy  right 
knee  of  his  leather  breeches  was  raised,  upon  which  an  abbreviated  rule  of 
arithmetic  was  satisfactorily  performed. 

••  ITis  dress  was  seldom  varied  or  replaced  ;  each  article  — a  part  of  which 
he  made  himself  —  always  bore  the  same  appearance.  The  round-crowned 
felt  hat.  witli  a  broad  brim  rolled  up  all  around,  sat  firmly  down  upon  his 
head  much  lower  behind  than  before;  and  this  at  times  was  ornamented 
with  a  well  smoked  pipe,  secured  under  the  band.  Then  he  presented  the 
short  kersey  coat,  cut  in  a  sort  of  semi- 
quaker  style,  covered  with  metal  buttons 
the  size  of  a  Spanish  dollar;  a  single 
breasted  waistcoat,  buttoned  up  to  the 
throat,  containing  two  pockets  large 
enough  to  shelter  his  doubled  hands, 
clutching  and  guarding  their  sterling 
contents,  the  sinews  of  his  business. 
Glancing  downward,  your  eyes  met  his 
stout  formed  nether  limbs,  encased  with 
ancient  buckskin,  remarkable  for  its  high 
polish,  by  an  adhesive  grease  and  other 
matter,  which  had  rendered  it  waterproof; 
while  below  it  appeared  stockings  usually 
gray  in  color,  and  stout  in  texture ;  and 
Patchen  fastened  them  below  the  knee  by 
the  compression  of  the  ties  of  those  famous 
leather  breeches.  A  bread  and  thick  pair 
of  cow  skin  shoes,  fastened  on  the  top 
with  large  steel  buckles,  completed  his 
attire."  "  And  this  was  his  dress,"  says 
one  of  my  informants,  "  when  I  first  saw 
him.  and  the  last,  after  an  acquaintance 
of  some  twenty  years."  His  dress,  how- 
ever, was  partially  modified  at  a  later  period,  when  corduroys  occasionally 
changed  place  with  the  leather  breeches,  and  high  boots  took  the  place  of 
shoes. 

He  was  thus  humorously  described  by  Alden  J.  Spooner,  Esq.:  '-Every 
observer  of  ■  men  and  things'  has  doubtless  noticed  in  the  village  of  Brook- 
lyn, a  thick  set  little  gentleman,  in  broad  brimmed  hat.  brown  bob  tail  coat, 
vest  half  way  down  his  thighs  and  leather  breeches  shining  with  a  lustre 
which  they  had  been  many  years  in  acquiring.  *  *         *         * 


JACOB    TATCITEX. 


From  a  sketch  bv  Dr.  J.  K.  Northall. 


70  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

"  Although  very  obdurate,  yet  his  temperament  was  happy,  and  his  rotund 
form  gave  evidence  that  he  was  in  the  regular  habit  of  living  well.  Music, 
to  him,  was  the  bleating  of  calves  and  sheep,  in  the  cellar  under  his  bed- 
room, where  their  nightly  serenadings  lulled  him  into  undisturbed  slumbers. 
Odor,  to  him,  was  the  effluvia  of  his  slaughter  house,  adjoining  his  dwelling. 
Mynheer  was  social  in  his  feelings,  and  nature  had  made  him  an  orator. 
He  would  talk  profoundly  on  natural  philosophy,  but  nevertheless  law  was 
a  theme  to  which  he  particularly  inclined,  and  wherein  he  considered  himself 
to  excel !  He  generally  held  forth  in  the  public  streets,  and  his  audiences, 
from  small  beginnings,  would  always  become  '  numerous '  and  sometimes 
'respectable/  His  manner,  no  less  than  his  matter,  had  a  peculiar  attrac- 
tion and  rendered  him  popular  as  a  speaker.  Like  the  schoolmaster  so  well 
described  by  the  poet  Goldsmith,  he  dealt  largely  in 

Words  of  learned  length,  and  thundering  sound, 
To  maze  the  gaping  listeners  gathering  'round. 

He  had  noticed  for  fifty  years  the  steady  inroads  of  modern  improvements 
around  his  neighborhood.  He  had  watched  the  progress  of  innovations, 
whereby  the  fair  face  of  nature  had  been  marred.  The  farms  had  been  cut  up 
into  streets  —  the  sheep  and  cow-paths  had  been  straightened,  the  hills  had 
been  laid  low,  and  the  valleys  exalted.  But  none  of  these  things  moved  him. 
His  little  domain  of  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet  remained  in  its  original  love- 
liness —  the  mansion  was  rather  distinguished  for  strength  than  elegance, 
and  the  huge  timbers  had  been  discolored  by  an  hundred  annual  smokings, 
and  an  equal  number  of  white-washings.  It  was  a  house  altogether  unique, 
and  the  bipeds  and  quadrupeds  formed  a  happy  family."  Such  then  was 
the  man,  and  such  the  house  upon  whose  covered  "  stoop "  he  might  be 
seen,  any  afternoon,  after  the  day's  work  was  done,  seated  with  pipe  in  mouth, 
enjoying  the  grateful  shade  of  the  old  locusts,  and  stolidly  surveying  the 
passers-by  who  traversed  the  cobblestone  side-walk  in  front  of  his  domain. 
That  sidewalk  was  an  eyesore  and  a  stumbling  block  to  every  inhabitant  of 
the  village  j  it  hurt  their  feet,  it  offended  their  sense  of  convenience  and  of 
cleanliness,  and  it  brought  down  upon  its  owner's  head  maledictions  more 
numerous  than  the  little  round  stones  of  which  it  was  composed.  It  was  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  Jacob's  "  sweet  dream  of  peace  "  was  at  length  dis 
turbed  (in  December,  1816)  by  an  official  notice  from  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  newly  created  village,  requiring  him  to  put  down  curbstones  and 
make  a  gravel  walk  in  front  of  his  premises,  in  compliance  with  an  ordi- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN,  71 

nance  recently  passed  by  them.  But  Jacob  flatly  refused,  although  the  ex- 
pense was  but  trifling,  alleging  that  the  old  cobblestones  had  been 
enough  to  walk  upon  for  many  years,  and  were  good  enough  fur  him.  and 
therefore,  for  others,  for  many  years  to  come.  Thereupon  he  was  sued,  tried 
by  jury,  before  Justice  Nichols,  and  fined  five  dollars.  Louder  and  vehe- 
ment now  became  his  denunciations  of  the  "  copperation  "  and  their  persecu- 
tions, while  the  uncleanly  cobblestones  remained,  a  nuisance  to  every  footsore 
wayfarer.  It  is  even  creditably  affirmed  that  Jacob,  in  the  height  of  his 
righteous  indignation,  abjured  the  village  sidewalks  and  betook  himself,  in 
his  daily  perigrinations  about  town,  to  the  middle  of  the  streets.  But  the 
trials  of  the  redoubtable  leather  breeches  were  like  those  of  a  puppy  — 
before  him.  In  1826,  the  trustees  having  determined  to  build  a  market  on 
James  street,  wished  to  open  a  short  street  (since  named  Market  street), 
leading  to  it  from  Fulton  street,  (there  being,  at  that  time,  no  street  running 
north-east  from  Fulton  street,  between  Front  and  the  junction  of  Maine  and 
Fulton  streets),  and  taking  in  two  lots  belonging  to  Patchen.  A  jury  of  award 
assessed  his  damages  at  $6,750,  but  he  evinced  so  much  dissatisfaction,  that 
the  trustees  purchased,  for  the  sum  of  $6,000,  two  other  lots  a  few  feet  east 
of  his  land,  proposing  to  make  the  street  at  that  place.  Finding,  however, 
that  Jacob's  land  was  much  better  suited  to  their  purpose,  they  reverted  to 
their  original  plan,  and  offered  him  the  two  lots,  together  with  two  houses 
thereon,  and  $750  in  cash  as  an  equivalent  for  his  two  lots.  But  leather 
breeches  declined  to  sell,  on  any  terms,  and  preferred  to  try  the  law.  It 
availed  him  nothing.  He  studiously  avoided  any  tender  of  the  cash,  and  the 
trustees  as  studiously  sought  for  an  opportunity.  At  length,  in  the  gray 
dawn  of  an  early  April  morn,  Jacob  was  aroused  from  his  slumbers.  He 
opened  his  doors,  and  there  stood  the  officers  of  the  hated  "  copperation," 
and  a  cart  full  of  hard  silver  dollars,  which  were  again  officially  tendered  to 
him.  He  was  cornered,  surprised,  but  not  dismayed;  he  asked  the  momen- 
tary indulgence  of  the  gentlemen  to  put  on  his  breeches.  It  was  a  reasona- 
ble request,  for  Jacob,  in  his  haste,  had  not  donned  his  full  costume,  and 
the  morning  air  was  sharp.  He  retired,  put  on  his  breeches,  and  leaving  his 
house  by  a  back  door,  ran  to  the  ferry,  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him, 
and  besought  the  ferryman  to  put  him  safely  across  the  East  river.  The 
diddled  functionaries  soon  discovered  the  "  sell,"  dismissed  the  cash  to  the 
bank  vaults,  and  returned  to  their  breakfasts  ';  sadder  and  wiser  men." 

The  workmen  commenced,  however,  to  open  the  street,  his  domains  were 
invaded,  "his  hogs  ran  snorting  into  the  street,  his  sheep  and  calves  gazed 
wildly  on  the  intruders,  and  sent  forth  doleful  bleatings  for  the  return  of 


72  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  man  in  leather  breeches."  He  did  return.  "  brimful  of  wrath  and  cab- 
bage." His  mansion  was  sold  at  auction,  and  ordered  to  be  removed,  the 
workmen  began,  the  bricks  rattled  overhead,  yet  the  obdurate  old  Dutchman 
sat  calmly  (?)  in  his  chair.  Friends  advised  him,  his  wife  and  daughter 
besought  him  to  remove,  but  he  heeded  them  not.  At  last  the  furniture  hav- 
ing been  all  removed  to  a  cart,  the  last  of  the  leather  breeches  was  carried 
out  bodily,  still  seated  in  his  chair,  and  carefully  deposited  on  top  of  the 
load,  and  thus  wheeled  slowly  away,  amid  the  derisive  laughter  of  village 
boys,  and  the  pity  of  those  who  saw  in  him,  the  melancholy  spectacle  of 
"  gray  hairs  without  common  prudence."  The  old  house  was  purchased  by 
Matthew  (father  of  Ex-Mayor  George  Hall),  and  removed  to  the  south  side 
of  Jackson  street,  about  one  hundred  feet  from  Prospect.  Fortune,  they 
say,  favors  the  brave.  It  was  so  in  Jacob's  case.  Several  years  of  litiga- 
tion at  length  terminated  in  his  triumph.  In  1832  he  was  legally  put  into 
possession  of  his  lands,  now  a  street,  paved  and  occupied  by  sundry  stoops, 
cellar  doors  and  one  dwelling  house  fronting  thereon,  together  with  four 
stores  whose  corner  doors  opened  upon  it.  Straightway  he  proceeded  to 
erect  a  fence  across  each  end  of  the  street,  and  built  a  small  house  of  rough 
boards,  into  which  he  removed  with  his  family,  and  again  reigned  "  sole 
monarch  of  all  he  surveyed."  In  announcing  this  forcible  closure  of  Market 
street,  the  Star  of  that  date  says :  "  As  this  was  the  principal  avenue  to  the 
market,  the  direct  means  of  redress  adopted  by  Mr.  Patchen  will  oblige  most 
of  the  citizens  to  take  a  circuitous  course  for  their  dinner."  In  addition  to 
its  being  a  public  nuisance,  it  placed  the  occupants  of  the  houses  which 
fronted  on,  or  opened  into  the  street,  in  a  very  humiliating  position ;  and 
Jacob  took  pleasure  in  playing  the  tyrant,  by  refusing  such  persons  "  right 
of  way  "  on  his  land,  thus  rendering  their  property  valueless,  while  it  did 
not  benefit  him.  He  further  manifested  his  malice  by  nailing  up  and  fasten- 
ing the  windows  and  doors  overlooking  him,  by  which  he  got  into  personal 
collision  with  some  of  the  inmates,  and  became  involved  in  several  petty 
law-suits. 

Wearied  out  with  this  unreasonable  man,  the  corporation  again  commenced 
active  measures  to  open  Market  street,  which  was  contested  inch  by  inch  by 
Jacob  and  his  lawyer.  Meanwhile,  the  property  had  increased  in  value,  and 
the  commissioners  now  awarded  Patchen  the  sum  of  $16,000  which  was 
again  refused,  on  the  plea  of  its  being  insufficient.  At  length,  in  1835,  the 
corporation  again  obtained  legal  possession  of  the  street,  and  after  several 
repetitions  of  the  farce  of  offering  the  cash,  and  being  as  often  refused,  they 
opened  it  once  more,  to  public  travel. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  73 

Jacob,  however,  wafl  one  of  that  sort  who  never  know  wlien  they  are 
whipped,  ami  continued  to  Litigate  the  matter  against  the  corporation  until 

the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  third  of  February,  1840,  at  the 
age  of  eighty  years.     The  money,  which  he  had  so  long  held  at  arm's  Length, 
was  then  awarded  to  his  widow  and  family;  but  the  "  lion's  share,"  of  course 
went  to  the  lawyer,  who,  for  so  many  years,  engineered  Jacob's  hopele- 
through  the  twistings  and  windings  of  the  courts  of  law. 

Mr.  Patchen  always  had  a  desire  of  being  distinguished  in  the  community, 
but  was  never  elected  but  once,  and  that  probably  by  way  of  a  joke,  to  the 
office  of  trustee  of  the  only  public  school,  at  that  time,  in  Brooklyn.  In 
1817,  he  was  an  uusuccesssful  candidate  for  assembly;  and  Furman,  in 
his  Manuscript  Notes,  gives  an  amusing  "glimpse  behind  the  scenes"  in 
relation  to  this  nomination.  "At  a  time,"  he  says,  '"when  there  was  quite  a 
lull  in  politics  in  the  village,  and  the  electors  had  held  a  public  meeting  and 
made  their  nomination  for  an  assemblyman  to  represent  Kings  county  in  the 
ensuing  legislature,  myself  and  other  lads,  none  of  us  having  the  right  to 
vote,  or  to  interfere  in  political  affairs,  but  prompted  by  the  mischievous 
spirit  inherent  in  all  boys,  determined  to  run  old  Patchen  as  a  candidate  for 
the  office.  Therefore,  keeping  our  own  counsel,  we  clubbed  together  a  few 
shillings,  drew  up  a  naming  hand-bill,  with  an  immense  eagle  at  its  head  ; 
followed,  in  large  capitals,  with  the  words  '  People's  Nomination^  and 
representing  the  proceedings  of  a  large  meeting  presenting  Jacob  Patchen  as 
the  people's  candidate  for  assemblyman.  We  went  to  New  York  and  had 
the  hand-bills  printed,  and  after  cutting  off  the  printer's  name  at  the  bottom, 
so  that  we  might  not  be  traced,  we  pasted  them  up,  in  the  night,  about  the 
village ;  sticking  one,  also,  under  Patchen's  door.  The  next  day  we  were 
much  amused  by  the  stir  and  excitement  which  this  movement  occasioned. 
A  meeting  was  at  once  called  and  a  committee  appointed  to  wait  upon  Mr. 
Patchen,  and  induce  him  to  decline  '  the  previous  nomination '  as  they 
termed  it.     The  committee,  however,  found  Mr.  Patchen  in  a  state  of  high 

i  1  o 

dignity  j  and,  upon  informing  him  of  their  mission,  he  replied  that  in  his  judg- 
ment, 'the  people  had  a  right  to  make  their  own  numaticais;  '  and,  as  they 
had  thought  proper  to  nominate  him  for  assembly,  he  would  not  decline.  And, 
to  our  great  astonishment,  he  polled  nearly  one  hundred  votes  in  Brooklyn." 

Mr.  Patchen,  aside  from  his  eccentricities,  had  the  credit  of  being  a  con- 
scientiously honest  man. 

A  little  beyond  Patchen's,  was  Mrs.  Coope's  (mother  of  David 
Coope)   cheap   crockery   and   earthenware    store;     where    were 
10 


74 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


also  to  be  found  pies  and  cakes,  of  surpassing  excellence,  made 
by  her  own  hand.  Above  her,  were  the  stores  of  old  Joseph 
Fox  (see  vol.  i,  page  310),  Wilson  (baker) ;  Wynant  Bennett 
(shoes),  afterwards  enlarged  by  him;  Mrs.  Earles  (thread  and 
needle),  and  on  the  corner  formed  by  the  junction  of  Old  and  New 
Ferry  roads,  a  confectionery  store  which  changed  owners  about 
every  year. 

Crossing  the  head  of  Main  and  Prospect  streets  we  come  to  the 
block  between  the  latter  street  and  Sand  street.  By  the  courtesy 
of  Mr.  John  C.  Philip  of  this  city,  we  are  enabled  to  present  our 
readers  with  a  view  of  this  block  as  it  appeared  fifty  or  "  sixty 


FULTON   STREET, 

(Between  Prospect  and  Sands  streets). 


years  ago."  Several  of  these  buildings  yet  remain,  and  are  more 
or  less  recognizable,  despite  the  changes  which  they  have  under- 
gone. 

On  the  corner  (present  No.  99),  was  the  residence  of  Theodosius 
Hunt,  one  of  the  proprietors,  with  Mr.  William  Furman,  of  the 
New  or  Catharine  Ferry.  He  was  a  large,  Quakerish  looking 
man,  retired  in  his  manner  of  life,  and  an  estimable  citizen.  In 
the  small  building  adjoining  Allan  Lippincott  (afterwards  Jenkins 
&  Lippincott),  kept  a  grocery.  The  next  high-stooped,  double- 
pitched,  dormer-windowed  house  is  well  remembered  by  all  old 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYX.  7" 

residents  as  the  bakery  of  William  Philip,  the  baker,  par  excellence, 
of  the  village. 

William  (Godfrey  |  Philip,  bom  at  Samradt,  a  Prussian  hamlet,  in  1 783, 

lost  his  father  in  early  life,  and  in  1797,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  was  appren- 
ticed to  a  baker,  to  learn  the  art  of  baking,  brewing  and  confectionery,  in 
which  hi'  became,  after  four  years  service,  an  expert,  and  followed  his 
craft  as  a  wanderschaft,  or  traveling  apprentice.  In  1803,  to  avoid  con- 
scription, he  followed  his  brother  Charles,  who,  for  the  same  reason,  had  gone 
to  America  a  year  before.  On  his  arrival  he  found  employment  at  first  in 
New  York.  In  1804,  he  removed  to  Brooklyn,  established  himself  in  busi- 
ness as  a  baker,  in  James  street,  near  Fulton  street;  and,  in  1811  married 
Maria  Marks,  of  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  About  the  same  time  he  built  a 
bakery  in  the  rear  of  No.  103  Fulton  street ;  and,  during  the  war  of  1812, 
baked  the  bread  for  the  government  troops  stationed  here  in  defense  of  New 
York  harbor.  In  1828  he  purchased  in  partnership  with  Philip  Reid,  the 
mills  known  as  Cornell's  Mills,  and  continued  the  distillery  business  for 
three  years.  In  1830,  he  met  with  severe  pecuniary  losses,  although  not 
sufficient  to  impoverish  him,  and  he  died  April  13th,  18-16.  His  children, 
whom  he  left  in  comfortable  circumstances,  are  nearly  all  yet  identified  with 
Brooklyn.1 

'Louisa  A.,  married  Benj.  W.  Davis  of  this  city  ;  Sophia  M.,  married  A.  S.  Pratt, 
of  Jersey  City,  N.  J. ;  Caroline,  married  Dr.  Outerbridge,  of  Bermuda ;  Frederick  (an 
artist)  married  Julia  Bach  ;  George  A.,  a  tin  and  coppersmith  in  Brooklyn  and  New 
York  ;  John  C,  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York 
city,  and  connected  for  many  years  past  with  the  Brooklyn  and  Montauk  Insurance 
Companies ;  Jacob,  in  the  grocery  business  with  liis  brother-in-law,  B.  M.  Davis,  in 
Brooklyn  ;  William  H.  (the  sculptor) ;  Joseph  D.,  a  minister  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal church  ;  Charles,  superintendent  of  the  Ridgewood  Water  Works  ;  and  Benjamin 
who  was  a  member  of  the  14th  Regiment  New  York  Volunteers,  in  the  war  of  the 
rebellion,  was  wounded  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  died  in  1868. 

Frederick  A.  Philip,  son  of  William  Philip,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  November, 
1812.  He  early  manifested  a  decided  genius  for  painting,  and  was  placed  as  a  pupil 
with  Wier  in  New  York  city.  In  1832  he  went  to  England,  where  he  remained  nine 
years  visiting  the  best  galleries,  studying  the  best  works  of  British  art,  and  availing 
himself  of  the  instructions  of  Harrison,  then  an  artist  of  high  repute.  He  then 
visited  Italy,  Germany  and  other  fields  of  art.  He  was  for  a  time  in  the  studio  of 
Baron  Vogel,  of  Dresden,  whose  portrait  he  painted,  which  now  adorns  one  of  The 
galleries  of  that  city.  After  returning  home,  he  married,  in  January,  1841,  Miss 
Julia  Bach,  daughter  of  Robert  Bach,  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  Brooklyn, 
who  died  about  three  months  after  in  April,  1841.  Many  of  his  best  pictures  are  in 
the  possession  of  this  lady,  now  Mrs.  McMasters.     His  other  pictures  and  drawings 


76  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Mr.  Philip  possessed  fair  business  qualities,  and  good  common  sense ; 
amassed  considerable  wealth,  and  was  liberal  but  unostentatious  in  his  living. 
Although  a  quiet  man,  he  was  of  a  kindly  and  sociable  disposition  j  pleasant, 
and  sometimes  witty,  in  conversation.  His  disposition,  perhaps,  is  well 
exemplified  by  the  answer  he  has  been  known  to  give  to  those  who,  from 
time  to  time,  informed  him  of  sundry  petit  larcenies  committed  on  his 
bakery  wood-pile,  "  Well,  if  they  didn't  want  it,  they  wouldn't  take  it."  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  in  the  village,  and  in  religion  was  origin- 
ally a  Lutheran ;  he  afterwards  joined  St.  Ann's  church,  but  subsequently 
left  the  connection. 

Several  of  the  best  bakers  which  Brooklyn  ever  had,  graduated  from  his 
bakery,  and  have  nearly  all  succeeded  well  in  business. 

Memories  of  Christmas  and  New  Years'  holidays  are  indissolubly  con- 
nected, in  the  minds  of  most  of  our  old  residents,  with  Philip's  bakery,  for 
each  of  his  customers  were  then  presented  with  "  New  Years'  cakes,"  vary- 

are  distributed  among  the  other  members  of  his  family,  by  whom  they  are  highly 
valued,  and  are  admired  by  artists  for  skillful  drawing  and  a  style  of  color,  carefully 
derived  from  the  old  masters.  Of  his  designs,  those  remaining  are  three  figures 
illustrating  the  Christian,  Jewish  and  Mohammedan  religions,  the  Dead  Shepherd 
Boy,  and  the  Prisoner  of  Chillon.  He  was  devoted  to  his  art,  and,  if  he  had  lived 
would  have  conferred  additional  honor  on  the  city  of  his  birth. 

Wm.  H.  Philip,  sculptor,  also  a  son  of  William  Philip,  is  now  living  and  was 
born  in  Brooklyn,  August  15,  1829.  He  began,  while  quite  a  child,  to  show  an  apti- 
tude for  modeling,  and  became  a  pupil  in  the  art  department  of  that  excellent  insti- 
tution, the  Brooklyn  Institute,  by  which  he  was  sent  to  Italy.  There  he  entered  the 
studio  of  Crawford  and  availed  himself  of  the  works  of  Thorwaldsen,  Gibson,  and 
other  masters.  On  his  return  home  he  executed  a  group  in  marble,  entitled  "  The  Sur- 
prise," showing  two  figures  startled  by  a  snake,  for  Rollin  Sanford,  Esq.,  who  also  em- 
ployed him  for  other  works.  He  also  executed  a  beautiful  medallion  of  a  child  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Benjamin  W.  Davis,  Esq.  His  works  have  been  various  and  all  of 
them  exhibit  delicacy,  power  of  expression,  and  remarkable  fidelity  to  nature.  Among 
his  works  are  a  figure  of  Isaac,  made  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  owned  by  Mr. 
Leverich,  of  Montague  street,  Brooklyn.  Busts  of  Keokuk  (owned  by  Silas  Ludlam, 
Brooklyn),  and  Black  Hawk,  sons  of  the  elder  chiefs  of  the  same  name.  Casts,  from 
the  life,  of  Lincoln,  Seward,  Chase,  Grant,  Farragut.  The  two  latter  have  been  ren- 
dered into  marble,  and  that  of  Grant  was  presented  by  the  Christian  Commission  to 
Mr.  Stuart  of  Philadelphia ;  a  beautiful  medallion  of  Meeta,  his  daughter,  owned  by 
James  Cassidy  of  Brooklyn  ;  a  fine  bust  of  John  D.  McKenzie  of  Brooklyn  ;  a  bronze 
medallion  of  Gabriel  Winter,  deceased,  of  Georgia,  etc.  Mr.  Philip  is  held  in 
deservedly  high  estimation,  and  having  great  enthusiasm  and  industry  in  his  art, 
needs  but  the  opportunity  to  execute  for  his  native  city  some  work  of  high  character 
and  expression,  for  which  he  has  eminently  the  ability. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  77 

ing  in  size  somewhat  according  to  the  amount  of  their  patronage,  but  all  o£ 
the  finest  quality.  Some  of  the  cakes  were  about  as  large  as  a  small  boy 
could  conveniently  manage  ;  indeed,  they  were  frequently  to  be  seen  carrying 
home  these  "  toothsome"  gifts  on  their  heads,  in  the  fashion  of  a  Spanish 
sombrero.  Nor  were  the  poor  forgotten,  or  the  children  of  both  "  high  and 
low  degree."  Their  half  timid,  half  expectant  Christmas  and  New  Years' 
greetings  to  the  worthy  baker  and  his  family,  were  sure  to  be  rewarded 
with  sweet  bread  largesses,  which  sent  them  away  rejoicing. 

Next  was  the  shop  of  Peter  Prest,  who  had  moved  up  from  his 
old  shop.  In  the  rear  part  of  the  same  house  was  a  small  dry- 
goods  and  thread  and  needle  store,  kept  by  Mrs.  Williams,  an 
Englishwoman.  It  was,  par  excellence,  the  gossip  place  for  the 
Brooklyn  village  dames  of  that  day ;  Mrs.  Williams'  repertoire 
being  constantly  replenished  with  the  most  diverting  tit-bits  of 
scandal,  which  were  here  retailed  to  every  customer  or  caller  —  and 
to  each  in  strict  confidence. 

Adjoining,  was  the  residence  of  Cyrus  Bill,  the  father  of  our 
esteemed  and  wealthy  fellow  citizen,  Chas.  E.  Bill.  The  old  gen- 
tleman kept  a  school  and  a  dry  goods  store,  the  latter  being  at- 
tended by  his  daughter  (who  subsequently  married  George 
Hicks),  and  his  son  Charles.  Mr.  Bill's  school,  which  was 
opened  in  November,  1818,  was  the  successor  of  one  kept  by  a 
Mr.  D.  De  Vinne  who  sold  out  and  removed  to  Natchez,  Miss. 
In  1819,  the  school  was  removed  to  the  school  house  in  Middagh 
street,  nearly  opposite  to  Mr.  Harmer's  new  factory. 

On  the  corner  of  Sands  street  (not  shown  in  our  view),  was 
Drs.  Ball  and  Wendall's  office. 

Dr.  Matthew  Wendall  came  of  an  old  and  highly  respectable  family 
of  Albany  county,  studied  under  Dr.  Hyde,  of  Bethlehem,  N.  Y.,  and  was  a 
thoroughly  educated  physician  of  the  real  old  fashioned  sort,  who  relied  on 
calomel,  jalap  and  blood-letting.  Mild  mannered,  gentlemanly  and  alto- 
gether unexceptionable  in  his  social  standing,  and,  in  a  high  degree,  possess- 
ing all  the  qualities  essential  to  a  "  good  family  physician,"  he  enjoyed  a  large 
practice  in  Brooklyn,  which  he  retained  to  a  very  late  period  in  his  active 
professional  life.  He  died  only  a  few  years  ago,  at  an  advanced  age,  retain- 
ing to  the  last  the  warm  regard  and  confidence  of  all  his  old  friends,  as  well 


78  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

as  of  the  many  who  had  grown  up,  with  the  city,  around  him.     His  second 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  John  Doughty. 

Dr.  Charles  Ball  was  for  many  years  his  partner  ;  he  was  licensed  in 
July,  1806,  was  an  ambitious  and  stirring  man,  and  esteemed  a  good  prac- 
titioner. Drs.  Ball  and  Wendall  succeeded  to  the  practice  of  Dr.  Osborne, 
an  excellent  and  talented  physician,  who  removed  to  New  York  city.  They 
were  both  among  the  founders  of  the  Kings  Co.  Medical  Society,  in  1822, 
of  which  Dr.  Wendall  was  the  first  vice  president;  president  in  1836,  and 
frequently  a  delegate  to  the  state  society.  Dr.  Ball  was  president  of  the 
society  in  1833  and  '34. 

Westerly  side  of  the  Old  Road  {Fulton  street)  from  Middagh  to  the 
present  Montague  street. 

On  the  southerly  side  of  Middagh  street,  after  passing  two  small 
frame  buildings,  we  come  to  the  low  one-story  house  (Map  b,  78), 
of  Marvellous  Richardson,  shoemaker.  It  was  built  by  the  Hes- 
sians, during  the  Revolutionary  war,  as  a  guard-house,  and  here, 
also,  for  a  short  time,  during  the  rectorship  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wright, 
the  Episcopalians  worshiped  in  a  hired  room,  rudely  fitted  up 
for  the  purpose,  with  pulpit,  reading  desk  and  seats,  and  here 
gathered  the  few  churchmen  of  the  village  and,  indeed,  of  the 
county,  among  whom  was  Aquila  Giles,  Esq.,  and  his  family, 
from  Flatbush.  Furman  {Manuscript  Notes),  says  that  Judge 
John  Garrison  was  also  an  original  member  of  this  church ;  but 
that,  having  become  dissatisfied  with  the  distribution  of  the  pews 
(no  unimportant  matter  in  those  days),  and  not  getting  so  eligible 
a  one  as  he  deemed  himself  entitled  to,  he  seceded,  taking  with 
him  several  others  with  whom  he  was  instrumental  in  forming 
the  Methodist  church.  Marvellous  Richardsou  (whose  name  in 
common  parlance,  was  generally  either  shortened  to  Marvel,  or 
lengthened  to  Miraculous  Marvel),  was  perhaps  one  of  these 
3eceders,  as  he  figures  among  the  earlier  Methodists  of  Brooklyn, 
and  the  schism  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  very  short  stay 
which  the  Episcopalians  made  in  this  spot. 

After  Marvellous  Richardson,  this  old  building  was  occupied  by 
Ithial  Smead,  as  a  school ;  and,  in  June,  1824,  was  leased  from 
the  heirs  of  John  Middagh,  by  Thomas  Kirk,  who  remodelled  the 
front  and  converted  it  into  three  stores. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  79 

We  next  notice  the  dwelling  of  Richard  H.  Cornwell,  cabinet 
and  coffin-maker,  and  a  man  of  considerable  ability.  He  was,  in 
1832,  surrogate  of  the  county,  to  which  office  (so  grimly  humor- 
ously appropriate  to  his  business)  he  was  elected  by  the  Metho- 
dist influence  which  then  largely  controlled  local  politics. 

Just  opposite  to  the  lower  corner  of  what  is  now  High  street, 
was  the  wheelwright  shop  of  George  Smith,  (Map  b,  77),  father  of 
Mr.  Crawford  C.  Smith,  president  of  the  Nassau  National  Bank  of 
this  city.  It  was  a  long,  two-story  frame  edifice,  originally  erected 
on  Sands  street,  and  occupied  by  the  Methodist  church.  When, 
in  1810,  they  determined  to  build  larger,  it  had  been  purchased 
by  Mr.  Smith,  moved  into  this  spot,  and  converted  to  a  shop.  It 
had  a  long  flight  of  stairs  on  the  outside,  leading  up  to  Judge 
Garrison's  Court  Boom,  on  the  second  floor. 

John  Garrison,  pleasantly  remembered  by  all  our  oldest  inhabitants  as 
intimately  connected,  for  many  years,  with  the  interests  of  the  earlier  vil- 
lage of  Brooklyn,  was  born  at  Gravesend,  L.  I.,  August  25th,  1764.  When 
he  was  quite  young,  his  parents  removed  to  Brooklyn,  and  his  father  dying- 
soon  after,  John  was  left  to  the  care  of  his  mother.  Under  the  instruction 
of  Matthew  Gleaves  he  became  a  butcher,  commencing  business  on  his  own 
account,  about  1785 ;  and,  for  many  years,  had  a  stand  in  the  Fly  Market, 
New  York.  In  November,  1793,  he  experienced  religious  convictions,  and 
when  the  first  Methodist  church  was  formed  in  the  village  in  1794,  he  was 
chosen  one  of  its  board  of  trustees,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold  for 
thirty-six  years.  He  was  a  staunch  Methodist,  attentive  to  church  duties ; 
and  it  is  related  of  him  that  when  the  first  house  of  worship  erected  by  that 
denomination  had  been  raised  and  enclosed;  but  before  it  was  finished,  Mr. 
Garrison  and  his  excellent  wife,  after  the  labors  of  the  week  were  ended, 
used  to  go  at  a  late  hour  on  Saturday  evening,  and  perform  the  duties  of  a 
sexton  in  clearing  away  the  rubbish  and  otherwise  preparing  the  church  for 
the  reception  and  accommodation  of  the  congregation.  In  politics  Mr.  Gar- 
rison was  a  violent  democrat,  of  the  old  school,  and  was  naturally  regarded, 
by  some,  as  a  man  of  bitter  and  vindictive  feelings;  while,  in  fact,  a 
kinder-hearted  man  never  lived.  He  was  a  fireman  in  1787,  1790,  1791, 
1793,  1794;  overseer  of  the  poor  in  1803  and  1804;  one  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  board  of  health  in  1S09  ;  a  school  commissioner  in  1800  and 
1807 ;  was  a  village  trustee  in  1816  and  1826,  and  for  the  larger  portion  of  his 


80  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

life  time,  a  judge  of  the  common  pleas,  or  justice  of  the  peace.  Indeed,  he, 
in  connection  with  Squire  Nichols,  dispensed  nearly  all  the  justice  that  was 
needed  to  keep  the  Brooklynites  straight  in  those  primitive  days;  and, 
though  his  legal  attainments  were  not  extensive,  his  strong,  common  sense, 
his  shrewdness  in  judging  character  and  his  straight  forward  way  of  getting 
at  the  justice,  if  not  the  law,  of  the  cases  brought  before  him,  rendered  him, 
in  the  opinion  of  all  who  knew  him,  one  of  the  best  justices  Brooklyn  ever 
had.  In  person  he  was  six  feet  two  inches  high,  remarkably  large,  and  weigh- 
ing three  hundred  pounds.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  inclined  towards 
corpulency,  but  always  retained  his  early  activity  and  erectness.  He  was 
invariably  dressed  in  a  suit  of  "  pepper  and  salt "  mixed  clothing,  cut  very 
loose.  Many  pleasant  stories  are  yet  told  of  his  queer  ways  and  say- 
ings, by  those,  who  as  boys,  intent  on  fun  and  excitement,  were  wont  to  fre- 
quent his  court  room,  in  the  upper  story  of  George  Smith's  wheelwright 
shop.  A  characteristic  one  is  the  following.  On  one  occasion,  a  trial  was 
going  on  before  Judge  Garrison,  the  case  being  a  suit  for  money.  The  long, 
warm  summer's  day  had  been  almost  entirely  occupied  by  the  arguments 
and  pleadings  of  the  opposing  counsel,  and  judge  and  jury  gave  indubitable 
signs  of  weariness.  The  lawyer  who  closed  the  case,  requested  the  judge 
to  "  charge  the  jury,"  a  proceeding  somewhat  unusual  in  the  simple  routine 
of  the  justice's  court.  Thereupon,  the  judge  rising  with  great  deliberation 
and  with  some  evident  hesitancy,  turned  his  burly  figure  towards  the  jury, 
and  delivered  himself  thus  :  "  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  !  You  have  heard 
the  learned  counsel  on  both  sides,  and  the  last  lawyer  who  spoke  has  asked 
me  to  charge  the  jury.  My  charge  shall  be  very  short/'  and  turning  to  the 
contesting  parties  in  the  suit,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  think  that  that  man  (point- 
ing to  one)  owes  that  man  (pointing  to  the  other)  the  money,  and  he  ought 
to  pay  it!"  Again,  M.  T.  sued  G.  T.  before  Judge  Garrison,  for  the  sum 
of  ten  shillings  and  got  a  decision  in  his  favor.  G.  T.,  however,  contuma- 
ciously refused  to  pay,  whereupon,  M.  T.  complained  to  the  judge.  "  What," 
said  the  judge,  "  won't  he  pay  you?  Well,  I'll  issue  a  summons  and  I'll 
guarentee  he'll  pay  you,  then."  Accordingly,  the  summons  was  issued,  and 
judgment  obtained,  but  the  money  didn't  come.  Whereupon,  M.  T.,  meet- 
ing the  judge  soon  after,  said  to  him,  "  Look  here,  Squire,  you  guarenteed 
that  debt,  and  now,  if  you  don't  pay  it,  I'll  sue  you."  "  Oh,  well,"  said  the 
judge,  "  that  debt  must  be  settled,"  and  forthwith  paid  M.  T.  five  shillings 
out  of  his  own  pocket. 

In  1828,  Judge  Garrison  was  chosen  one  of  the   Jackson  electors,  and 
while  in  Albany  upon  that  business,  was  attacked  with  dysentery,  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  81 

effects  of  which  lie  never  fully  recovered;  and.  in  June.  1830,  haying 
in  a  Methodist  paper,  some  notice  of  the  grave  of  thai  holy  and  distinguished 
man,  Benjamin  Abbot,  and  feeling,  as  he  said,  desirous  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  so  good  a  man,  he  visited  Salem,  N.  J.,  for  the  purpose  of  erect- 
ing a  monument  over  his  grave.  While  there,  however,  he  was  prostrated 
by  the  heat,  and  his  health,  from  that  time,  rapidly  declined.  He  died  on 
the  22d  of  January,  1831,  his  remains  being  interred  under  the  Sands  street 
Methodist  church,  of  which  he  so  long  had  been  a  useful  and  devoted  member. 
Judge  Garrison's  residence,  during  the  early  portion  of  his  life,  was  in 
Doughty  street ;  afterwards  on  the  south-east  corner  of  Washington  and 
High  streets.     His  portrait  is  preserved  in  Guy's  Brooklyn  picture.1 

Next  the  wheelwright  shop  was  a  house  (Map  b,  76)  occupied 
bj  two  excellent  Methodist  people,  Joseph  Moser  and  wife,  known 
to  every  oue  in  the  village,  as  "  CJncle  Josey,"  and  "  Aunt 
Rachel." 

Joseph  Moser,  like  his  friend  "Poppy"  Snow,  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated in  ••  every  good  word  and  work,"  was  one  of  these  quiet  public  bene- 
factors which  every  community  needs.  Peculiar  in  gait,  clean  shaven,  round 
shouldered  and  dressed  always  in  drab  colored  clothes,  he  was  never  missed 
from  his  place  in  the  Methodist  church  on  the  Sabbath.  His  ministrations 
to  the  sick,  and  the  heavy  laden;  his  labors  in  the  Sabbath  School;  his  un- 
tiring interest  in  the  youth  of  the  place,  counselling  them  and  originating 
entertainments  for  them,  in  which  instruction  and  amusement  were  most 
judiciously  blended,  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  both  old  and  young.  He 
was,  at  this  time,  established  in  a  lucrative  business,  as  a  builder,  and 
amassed,  what  in  those  days,  was  an  independent  fortune  j  and  many  of 
Brooklyn's  most  prosperous  citizens  owed  their  welfare  to  his  unsolicited 
aid.  His  purse  was  ever  open,  and  it  probably  never  entered  his  head  to 
say  "No!"  when  called  upon.  Especially  in  the  establishment  of  the 
churches  of  his  own  beloved  denomination,  was  his  liberality  unbounded. 
But  this  was  a  trait  which  exposed  him  to  the  cupidity  and  ingratitude  of 
his  fellow  men,  and,  through  losses  entailed  upon  him  by  others,  he  became 
deprived  of  his  hard  earned  property,  and  dependent  upon  the  charity  of 
relatives.     Within  a  few  years  of  his  death  which  occurred  on  the  8th  of 

'For  some  of  the  biographical  facts  here  given,  we  are  indebted  to  a  memoir  of 
Judge  Garrison  and  the  Methodist  Church  in  Brooklyn,  in  the  Methodist  Magazine 
and  Quarterly  Review,  xin,  New  Series,  n,  258,  1831. 
11 


82  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

February,  1854,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  he  occupied  for  the  brief 
period  of  a  few  months,  an  inspectorship  in*  the  New  York  customs,  and 
an  inspectorship  of  pavements  in  Brooklyn,  both  of  which  were  bestowed 
upon  him  unsolicited,  and  by  his  political  adversaries.  Honored  and  re- 
spected by  all,  he,  probably,  was  without  an  enemy,  and  his  life  and  death 
alike  proved  him  a  devoted,  active  and  useful  Christian. 

Passing  a  very  old  one  and  a  half-story  house  (Map  b,  74)  on  the 
corner  of  the  present  Cranberry  street,  afterwards  occupied  by 
Peter  Cowenhoven's  grocery,  we  come  to  a  carpenter's  shop  sub- 
sequently the  paint  shop  of  old  Matthew  Hall,  from  Flatbush,  the 
father  of  (ex-mayor),  George  Hall. 

A  little  beyond,  on  about  the  line  of  the  present  Orange  street, 
was  an  old  house  (Map  b,  75)  occupied  by  Cortlandt  Van  Buren, 
an  old  citizen,  who  died  about  1820,  and  whose  son,  Samuel,  was 
the  first  husband  of  Mrs.  Edward  McComber,  now  residing  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  It  was  afterwards  the  residence  of  Losee  Van 
Kostrand.  ISText  to  this  was  "  Biddy  "  Stephenson's  liquor  saloon 
and  "  Ice  Cream  Garden."  Her  husband,  William,  had  formerly 
kept  a  bar  and  billiard  room  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road, 
well  known  as  the  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  or  Washington  Inn,  the 
sign  bearing  a  portrait  of  that  renowned  personage ;  and,  after 
his  death,  his  widow  removed  to  this  side  and  continued  the  busi- 
ness under  the  old  sign.  "  Biddy  "  was  a  smart  woman,  and  her 
place  was  much  resorted  to  for  the  holding  of  town,  village  and 
public  meetings.  Her  "  Garden  "extended  out  to  meet  the  pro- 
perty of  James  B.  Clark,  Esq.,  who  occupied  a  large  piece  of 
land  (some  200  feet  front)  leased  from  the  Midclagh  estate,  through 
which  Pineapple  street  has  since  been  opened,  leaving  the  old 
"  Clarke  pump  "  out,  on  the  corner  in  front  of  the  present  "  Stand- 
ard Office."  The  dwelling  (Map  b,  81)  a  large  two-story  frame, 
still  exists,  having  been  moved  back  and  faced  around  on  Pine- 
apple street  (Eos.  108,  110),  near  Fulton.  "  Lawyer  "  Clarke,  as 
he  was  called,  was  an  industrious,  plodding  attorney,  for  many 
years  district  attorney  of  Kings  county,  and  dabbled  considerably 
in  real  estate.  His  wife,  a  sister  of  John  Fisher  (ante,  page  62) 
was  a  stately,  handsome  woman,  who  always  wore  a  turban,  and 
aimed  at  taking  a  leading  position  in  the  social  circles  of  the  place. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.       «  83 

Two  pretty  and  lively  daughters  graced  the  house,  which  is 
naturally  associated  with  very  pleasant  remembrances  in  the  minds 
of  some  who  will  read  these  pages. 

Next  to  Mr.  Clarke's  grounds,  was  the  parsonage  building  (Map 
b,  73)  occupied,  at  the  time  we  are  describing,  by  the 

Rev.  John  Ireland,  rector  of  St.  Ann's  from  1798  to  1807,  and  subse- 
quently chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy,  a  commission  which  he  held 
until  his  death,  in  March,  1823.  English  by  birth  and  education,  he 
possessed  fine  qualities  both  of  intellect  and  heart,  but  with  little  control  of 
his  passions  which  were  strong,  and  it  was  probably  owing  to  this  serious 
defect  in  his  character  that  he  transferred  his  clerical  relations  to  the  navy 
yard.  He  was,  however,  an  attractive  speaker,  and  had  the  genial,  finished 
manners  of  a  perfect  gentleman.  Although  a  high  churchman,  Parson  Ire- 
land was  remarkably  free  from  narrow  sectarianism,  either  in  faith  or  prac- 
tice, and  was  much  interested  in  Sabbath  Schools,  being  the  secretary  of  one 
established  in  1816,  and  the  founder  of  another  in  the  navy  yard.  He  was, 
also,  an  eminent  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  being  among  the  founders  of 
Fortitude  Lodge,  in  Brooklyn,  and,  for  many  years  chaplain  of  the  Grand 
Lodge.  As  might  have  been  expected,  he  was  an  ardent  politician,  and  was, 
in  various  ways,  intimately  connected  with  the  organization,  and  civil  inter- 
ests of  the  village,  especially  as  one  of  the  committee  who  drew  up  the  bill 
of  incorporation,  in  1816. 

The  old  parsonage  which  stood  with  its  gable  to  the  road,  was 
replaced  with  a  new  one  in  1826,  which  in  turn  was  sold  to  Losee 
Van  Nostrand,  in  1834,  and  by  him  removed. 

Next  to  the  parsonage,  just  on  the  lower  side  of  the  turn  of  the 
present  Clinton  street  into  Fulton,  was  the  pretty  two-story  frame 
dwelling  (Map  b,  72)  of 

Samuel  Sackett,  who  was  of  a  Newtown  family  and  a  most  excellent  man. 
He  was  for  many  years  overseer  of  the  poor,  in  Brooklyn,  to  which  as  well 
as  to  the  duties  of  a  trustee  of  the  only  public  school,  he  gave  his  undivided 
attention.  He  was  a  man  of  polished  manners  and  agreeable  address,  and 
was  highly  esteemed  by  his  cotemporaries.  He  died  in  1822,  leaving  a 
daughter  (Mrs.  Thos.  W.  Titus),  now  living;  two  sons,  Clarence  D.,  and 
Grenville  A.,  both  lawyers  and  deceased.  The  former  was  a  village  trustee 
in  1826,  and  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  j  while  the  latter,  although  a 
diligent  and  competent  lawyer,  was  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  poetical 


84  *      HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

genius,  and,  under  the  signature  of  "  Alfred,"  wrote  some  of  the  best  and 
most  widely  circulated  of  the  fugitive  poetry  of  the  day,  in  The  New  York 
Mirror,  New  York  Times  and  Long  Island  Star. 

Here  we  may  mention  that  along  the  westerly  side  of  the  old 
road  (Fulton  street),  from  Orange  to  Clinton  streets,  extended  a 
row  of  magnificent  old  elms ;  the  largest  in  size,  perhaps,  being 
those  along  in  front  of  Lawyer  Clarke's  grounds.  Elm,  mulberry, 
locust,  cedar,  and  willow  trees  abounded  in  the  village  at  that  day, 
to  a  greater  extent  than  the  promenaders  of  the  present  city  can 
realize. 

The  next  house  (Map  b,  70)  on  this  side  of  the  road,  and  very 
nearly  opposite  to  the  present  Johnson  street,  was  the  residence  of 

John  Valentine  Swertcope,  one  of  those  Hessians  who  had  been  left 
(perhaps  not  unwillingly)  upon  our  shores  by  the  receding  wave  of  British 
domination,  after  the  declaration  of  peace  in  1783.  With  his  long  gray  beard, 
his  soldierly  tread  and  strongly  marked  features,  he  was  certainly  the  quaintest 
and  most  original  character  in  the  village.  In  the  British  service  he  had 
been  an  armorer;  and,  very  naturally,  found  some  employment  in  furbishing 
and  repairing  the  guns,  pistols,  etc.,  of  his  neighbors  in  Brooklyn.  Although 
his  income  from  this  source  could  have  been  but  slight;  yet  by  industry 
and  thrift  he  gradually  amassed  a  very  snug  little  property,  so  that  he  was 
commonly  reputed  to  have  found  a  buried  treasure.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he 
was  able,  in  course  of  time,  to  purchase  from  the  De  Bevoise  brothers,  a  strip 
of  land  off  from  the  end  of  their  farm,  upon  which  he  erected  a  dwelling 
house,  and,  adjoining  it  on  the  north,  a  gunsmith  shop,  which  was  mostly 
used  by  his  son  John.  Old  Swertcope,  among  other  contrivances,  invented 
an  air-gun,  the  balls  of  which  were  clay  pellets,  and  this  weapon  was  an 
object  of  great  curiosity,  and  of  no  small  fear,  to  the  boys  especially,  in  their 
predatory  excursions  into  the  old  man's  orchard.  A  story  is  still  extant,  of  an 
English  cockney  sportsman,  who  while  hunting  around  the  remains  of  the 
old  fort  on  the  Heights,  raised  his  gun  to  fire  at  a  robin,  which,  to  his  sur- 
prise fell  dead  before  his  eyes,  'ere  he  had  even  time  to  aim  at  it  j  and  when 
old  Swertcope's  gaunt  and  grizzly  figure  emerged  from  among  the  bushes,  the 
amateur  sportsman  incontinently  took  to  his  heels,  firmly  convinced  that  the 
apparition  was  none  else  than  "  St.  Nick  "  himself.  Two  of  these  curious 
guns  were  sold  among  Swertcope's  effects,  after  his  death,  and  one  was  pur- 
chased at  a  pretty  high  figure  by  a  gentleman  who  did  not  understand  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  85 

secret  of  its  management!  Swertcope's  son  offered  to  impart  the  method  for 
a  price  which  the  purchaser  was  not  willing  to  pay.  and  so  "  Swertcope's 
air-gun  "  must  henceforth  be  remembered  ainong  the  ';  lost  arts."  Much  of 
Swertcope's  time  was  occupied  in  attending  to  his  fine  garden  and  orchard, 
where  he  used  to  prowl  about,  in  apple  season,  with  whip  in  hand  and  a  dog 
at  his  heels,  ready  to  pounce  upon  the  boys  who  were  skirmishing  around 
his  trees.  He  also  did  a  considerable  business  in  the  distilling  of  rose-wat*  r. 
Roses,  at  that  time,  were  raised  in  great  abundance  in  the  gardens  of  Brook- 
lyn ;  and  many  persons  were  accustomed  to  send  their  annual  crop  of  rose- 
leaves  to  Swertcope,  who  returned  to  each  customer  one-half  the  yield  in 
rose-water;  reserving  the  other  half  as  payment  for  services  in  distillation.1 
Having  procured  from  the  De  Bevoises'  some  of  their  fine  strawberry  plants, 
of  which  fruit  they  had  previously  held  the  monopoly  in  the  New  York 
market,  he  very  soon,  by  his  good  management,  succeeded  in  dividing  with 
them  the  reputation  and  the  business  of  the  best  berries.  In  addition  to 
these,  he  derived  no  inconsiderable  income  from  the  sale  of  a  superior  kind 
of  bitters,  which  he  manufactured ;  and  he  might  be  seen  almost  every  morn- 
ing, wending  his  way  to  the  ferry,  with  a  basketful  of  bottles  of  these  bitters, 
which  he  peddled  off  in  Xew  York,  before  his  return  to  Brooklyn. 

He  was  said  to  be  somewhat  of  a  miser,  and  the  large  amount  of  money 
which  he  amassed,  all  in  specie,  was  kept  in  a  heavy  iron  bound  box,  uuder 
his  bed  j  and  its  key  during  his  last  illness  was  always  placed  under  his 
pillow.  The  late  George  Hall  used  to  relate  that  having  occasion  to  visit 
him,  a  little  before  his  death,  some  one  called  at  the  house  to  obtain  payment 
of  a  small  bill,  and  the  sick  man  directed  his  daughter  to  get  the  necessary 
amount  out  of  the  trunk.  As  she  was  engaged  a  little  too  long  in  searching 
for  a  coin,  the  sick  man  became  impatient  and  suspicious,  and  raising  him- 
self up  in  bed,  exclaimed,  "  Come  away!  Come  away!  vat  you  doin  mit 
your  tarn  money-rousin  ?  " 

Furman  relates  (Manuscript  Notes,  dated  1824),  in  regard  to 
Swertcope's  property,  the  interesting  fact  that,  "  eight  years  since," 

'Furman  ( Manuscript  Notes)  says,  "  Among  the  Dutch  formers  in  Kings  county, 
L.  I.,  roses  have  always  been  raised  in  great  abundance,  and  not  a  few  tulips.  Mr. 
Rynier  Suydam  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  bad  sold,  during  the  summer  of  IS'-?)),  up  to 
June  20,  three  hundred  pounds  of  rose  leaves,  from  off  his  place,  at  18f  cents  per 
pound,  and  expected  to  sell  one  hundred  pounds  more  before  the  close  of  the  season. 
Mr.  John  Cowenhoven,  of  the  same  town,  bad  sold  from  his  garden  thirty  pounds, 
but  had  not  given  any  particular  attention  to  the  business. 


86  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

while  digging  his  well,  "  near  the  junction  of  Fulton  street  and 
Love  lane,  on  some  of  the  highest  ground  in  Brooklyn,  at  a 
depth  of  thirty  feet,  a  hemlock  board  was  found;  and,  again  at  the 
depth  of  seventy-three  feet  he  met  with  oyster  and  clam  shells, 
which  crumbled  on  being  exposed  to  the  air." 

In  the  rear  of  Swertcope's  land,  just  behind  the  present  Pres- 
byterian church,  on  west  side  of  Clinton  street,  was  the  old  private 
burial  ground  (Map  b,  71)  of  the  Middagh  family.  Along  the 
southerly  side  of  Swertcope's  land,  was  "  Love  lane,"  leading 
down  the  De  Bevoise  place  on  the  heights,  and  a  little  distance 
beyond  the  lane  was  Lawrence  Brower's  tavern  (Map  b,  69)  called 
"  Mount  Pleasant  Garden."  The  house  first  occupied  by  Brower 
was  a  smaller  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  about  where 
the  present  new  assembly  building  stands  in  Washington  street, 
near  Fulton.  This  house,  however,  was  originally  hired  by  him 
from  the  brothers  De  Bevoise,  whose  property  afterwards  (in  1816) 
was  purchased  by  Mr.  II.  B.  Pierrepont.  In  1824  he  purchased 
the  house  and  a  few  acres  surrounding,  from  Mr.  P.  and  built  a 
larger  house,  in  which  was  a  dance  room,  etc.,  and  kept  a  "  beer 
and  meat  garden,"  or  house  of  entertainment,  where  public  and 
political  meetings,  principally  of  the  whig  or  federal  party,  were 
often  held.  "  The  elections,"  says  Furman,  "  were  then  held  for 
three  successive  days,  but  the  polls  were  only  opened  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  first  and  second  days,  and  on  the  whole  of  the  third. 
On  two  out  of  the  three  days,  the  polls  were  held  either  at  the 
"Black  Horse"  tavern,  then  kept  by  Devoe,  or  at  Duflon's  "  Mili- 
tary Garden."  Brower's  was  not  esteemed  quite  as  respectable  as 
Duflon's,  in  consequence  of  the  gambling  which  was  carried  on 
there  pretty  extensively,  and  which,  together  with  hard  drinking, 
ultimately  brought  ruin  to  "Larry."  Brower  held  the  office  of 
sheriff  of  Kings  county  in  1815. 

Beyond  Brower's,  and  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  present  Me- 
chanics' Bank,  on  the  corner  of  Montague  street,  was  the  "  Bee 
Hive,"  kept  by  Mrs.  Wells,  the  mother-in-law  of  the  late  lamented 
Capt.  Hudson,  United  States  Navy.  It  stood  back  a  little  from 
the  old  road,  with  its  "  bee  hive  "  sign  projecting  over  the  walk 
and  was  subsequently  occupied  by  Dr.  Hurd. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  87 

The  easterly  side  of  the  Old  Road  (Fulton  street)  from  Sands  street 
to  Myrtle  avenue. 

On  the  southerly  corner  of  Sands  street,  was  John  Harmer's 
patent  floor  cloth  factory.  Subsequently,  about  1819,  he  erected 
a  new  factory  in  Middagh,  near  Fulton  street.  Harmer  was  an 
Englishman,  a  singular  genius,  and  a  great  infidel,  always  talking 
and  boasting  about  his  infidelity.  He  was  a  friend  and  great 
admirer  of  Thomas  Paine,  author  of  The  Age  of  Reason;  and, 
in  the  latter  portion  of  that  writer's  life  he  had  him  to  live  with 
him  in  Brooklyn.  Harmer  was  a  man  of  considerable  property, 
and  was  the  means  of  inducing  Francis  Guy,  the  painter,  to 
come  to  this  place.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Lavinia  Smith,  is  one  of 
the  figures  represented  in  Guy's  picture.  Next  to  Harmer's  was 
the  residence  and  grocery  store  of  high  sheriff  John  Dean,  father  of 
Col.  Joseph  Dean.  He  was  a  prominent  politician  in  the  county, 
was  appointed  sheriff  in  March,  1813,  and  "  Dean's  Corners,"  as 
it  was  generally  called,  was  to  the  male  portion  of  the  village, 
what  Mrs.  Williams'  shop  was  to  the  female,  a  great  rendezvous 
for  (political  and  business)  "  chit-chat."  Adjoining  Mr.  Dean's 
grocery,  with  an  intervening  space,  was  his  extensive  shoe  shop. 
Passing  this,  we  come  to  two  small  old  buildings ;  then  the  resi- 
dence of  George  Smith,  whose  wheelwright  shop  was  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road ;  and,  then,  the  two-story  frame  dwelling 
house  and  grocery  store  of  Isaac  Moser,  brother  of  "  Uncle  Josy" 
Moser,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken. 

This  brings  us  to  High  street,  crossing  which,  we  pass  a 
.bakery  shop;  Mr.  John  G.  Murphy's  house;  "Gus"  Back's, 
with  his  whip  factory  in  the  rear ;  some  vacant  lots,  aud  then,  a 
little  north  of  the  corner  of  Nassau  street,  a  long,  one-story  and  a 
half  edifice,  built  of  small  brick  said  to  have  been  brought  from 
Holland.  This  venerable  building  had  been  honored  by  having 
been  the  seat  of  the  New  York  provincial  congress,  in  1746  and 
1752,  when  driven  from  New  York  city  by  the  prevalence  there 
of  the  small-pox,  and  many  important  acts  were  passed  here.  It 
was,  also,  Gen.  Putnam's  headquarters,  previous  to  the  battle  of 
Brooklyn,  in  August,  1776  (ante,  i,  216).     It  stood  some  fifteen  or 


88  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

eighteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  road  and  was,  for  many  years, 
occupied  by  old 

Squire  Nichols,  a  cabinet  maker  by  trade,  and  for  thirteen  years  previous 
to  1822,  a  justice  of  the  peace.  His  shop  adjoined  the  eastern  end  of  the 
dwelling.  Subsequently  it  was  occupied  by  Samuel  E.  Clements,  as  the 
post  office  and  the  office  of  his  paper,  The  Long  Island  Patriot.  On  the 
second  floor  old  Mr.  William  Hartshorn  (who  died  in  December,  1859)  kept 
a  little  stationery  shop,  and  cases  where  he  set  type  for  the  Patriot.  When, 
in  1832,  in  consequence  of  the  widening  of  Fulton  street,  the  old  house  was 
condemned  to  demolition,  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  John  Gr.  Murphy,  who 
had  its  venerable  oak  timbers  sawed  up  into  flooring  for  some  new  three- 
story  brick  houses  he  was  erecting  on  Fulton  near  Nassau  street,  to  the  great 
discomfiture  of  his  carpenters  who  complained  that  their  tools  were  dulled 
by  the  excessive  hardness  of  the  wood. 

Of  Squire  Nichols,  abovementioned,  we  know  less  than  we  could  wish. 
Though  far  from  rich,  he  was  an  honest  man  and  universally  respected.  He 
was  a  native  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  had  seen  considerable  service  during  our 
Revolutionary  war,  having  entered  the  American  army  as  a  private  in  1775, 
was  in  the  whole  of  that  wonderful  and  unfortunate  expedition  of  the  north- 
ern army,  under  Gen.  Arnold,  against  Quebec,  and  was  appointed  adjutant 
of  the  4th  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Holmes.  In  1776,  he  was  a  lieu- 
tenant in  Col.  Nicholson's  regiment  raised  at  Quebec,  was  at  the  siege  of 
Fort  Schuyler,  and  the  capture  of  Burgoyne's  army.  Also,  in  the  actions  of 
September  19th  and  October  7th,  and  other  skirmishes  j  and,  at  the  battle 
of  Rhode  Island,  October  14th,  1778,  where  he  commanded  his  company,  in 
the  absence  of  its  captain,  was  twice  wounded.  He  was  short  and  stout  in 
stature  and  very  active  and  energetic  in  mind,  although  somewhat  crippled 
in  his  feet ;  and,  even,  until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  was  one  of  the 
most  active  justices  of  the  peace  which  Brooklyn  ever  had,  although  he 
would  drink,  and  not  unfrequently  swear,  even  "  while  on  the  bench ; "  still  these 
were  faults  which  were  attributable  probably  to  his  early  army  associations. 
He  died  on  the  23d  of  November,  1835,  and  his  remains  were  escorted  to  the 
tomb  by  the  mayor  and  civil  officers  of  the  city,  by  four  military  companies 
of  Brooklyn,  and  two  from  New  York,  forming  the  largest  funeral  which  was 
ever  known  in  Brooklyn,  and  Capt.  Brower's  Infantry  company  fired  a  volley 
over  the  grave  of  the  old  veteran. 

Crossing  Nassau  street  we  notice  on  the  southerly  corner  the 
large   square   house   occupied  by  Capt.  John  O'Sullivan,  a  re- 


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HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  89 

tired   shipmaster,  and   father-in-law   of  Dr.   R.    S.  Thorne  and 
Dr.  Hazlett. 

Then  Willy  Stephenson's  "  Auld  Lang  Syne  "  Iun,  before  re- 
ferred to,  and  the  gardens  attached  to  its  southerly  side.  On 
the  site  of  these  gardens  afterwards  stood  the  old  theatre.  Xext, 
on  the  corner  of  Concord  street,  was  the  residence  of 

Dr.  Joseph  Gedney  Tarlton  Hunt.  He  was  a  native  of  Westchester 
Co.,  N.  1".,  where  he  was  born  in  1783;  studied  medicine  with  some  of  the 
leading  practitioners  of  New  York  at  that  day,  among  others  with  Dr.  'White- 
head Hicks  and  Dr.  Bard.  As  a  student  he  was  highly  esteemed,  and  being 
placed  at  one  time,  in  charge  of  a  public  hospital,  during  a  season  of  epidemic, 
displayed  such  fidelity  and  skill  as  to  attract  the  attention,  and  merit  the 
approbation  of  the  common  council  of  the  city,  as  expressed  in  a  formal  vote 
of  thanks.  In  180-1  he  was  licensed  to  practice,  and  appointed  an  assistant 
surgeon  in  the  United  States  Xavy ;  being  promoted,  in  a  very  brief  period, 
to  the  rank  of  full  surgeon,  in  consequence  of  surgical  skill  displayed  by 
him ;  and  for  fifteen  years  thereafter  served  both  his  country  and  his  pro- 
fession with  assiduity  and  credit.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  American  fleet 
during  the  Algerine  war,  under  Decatur;  was  on  board  the  Chesapeake,  when 
she  surrendered  to  the  British  ship  Leopard,  and  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Capt.  James  Lawrence,  of  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship  "  celebrity.  For  many 
years  he  was  on  duty  at  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard,  and  carried  on  at  the  same 
time  a  considerable  practice  in  the  village.  Finally,  about  1820,  he  resigned 
from  the  navy,  and  settled  on  the  northerly  corner  of  Concord  and  Fulton 
streets ;  removing  subsequently  to  the  opposite  corner,  now  occupied  by  the 
Brooklyn  Savings  Bauk.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Kings 
County  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  president  from  1825  to  1830 
inclusive ;  and,  during  the  same  years,  health  officer  of  the  village.  The 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  confreres  in  the  society,  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that,  in  January,  1829,  they  unanimously  recommended 
him  to  the  regents  of  the  university  of  the  state  of  Xew  York,  for  the 
honorary  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  (he  having  previously  practiced  on  the 
old  "license"  system)  "in  consideration  as  the  records  say,"  of  the  service 
he  has  rendered  to  the  United  States,  while  he  had  the  honor  to  belong  to  the 
navy,  and  for  the  endearment  he  has  merited  in  all  classes  of  society,  since  his 
retirement  from  that  official  station."  In  addition  to  his  professional  attain- 
ments, he  possessed  fine  conversational  powers  and  agreeable  social  qualities 
which  endeared  him  to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  He  left  three 
12 


90  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

children,  all  now  living  and  honored  residents  of  Brooklyn,  viz :  Wilson  Gr. 
Hunt,  M.  D.  j  Benjamin  T.  Hunt,  and  Maria,  widow  of  Thomas  B.  Downing. 

The  southerly  corner  of  Concord  street  was  then  a  vacant  lot, 
adjoining  which  was  the  residence  of  Bike  Reid,  hatter,  and  for 
many  years  a  constable  in  the  village.  As  such  he  was  literally 
"  a  terror  to  evil  doers,"  to  whom  a  doggerel  rhymster  once  ad- 
dressed the  following  warning,  in  the  columns  of  the  Star: 

Do  you  not  fear  the  terrors  of  the  law, 
The  direful  energy  of  Justice  Nichols  ? 

Or  lest  Rike  Reid  let  fall  his  mighty  paw, 
And  put  you  all  in  very  pretty  pickles. 

Then,  the  house  of  Joseph  Sprague  (afterwards  mayor)  who  had 
in  the  rear  of  his  ground,  a  factory  for  the  making  (by  dog  power) 
of  "  Whittemore  cards  "  used  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods. 
A  little  above  stood  an  old  meeting  house  originally  erected 
for  the  use  of  the  "Independent"  society,  in  1785,  (see  page  377, 
first  volume),  and  which  afterwards  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
Episcopalians  of  Brooklyn.  It  adjoined  the  northerly  side  of  the 
old  Episcopal  burial  ground  belonging  to  St.  Ann's  congregation, 
and  which  is  now  covered  by  the  handsome  block  of  stores, 
known  as  "  St.  Ann's  Buildings."  It  gradually  fell  into  decay, 
but  was  patched  up  and  occupied  as  a  school  room,  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Seabury  and  John  Swinburne,  who  kept  here  a  classical  and  Eng- 
lish school  of  great  excellence,  at  which  many  of  our  oldest  citizens, 
now  living,  received  their  early  education.  Mr.  Seabury,  who 
had  been  an  assistant  to  Mr.  Evan  Beynon,  in  his  school  on  Con- 
cord street,  until  the  death  of  that  worthy  pedagogue,  was  a  fine 
scholar,  a  strict  disciplinarian  and  a  thorough  teacher.  He  has 
since  been  widely  known  as  an  accomplished  editor  and  theologian 
of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  is  still  living.  His  assistant,  John 
Swinburne,  was  a  conscientious,  methodical  teacher,  a  good  disci- 
plinarian, and  in  all  respects,  a  faithful  teacher  and  worthy  man. 
He  is,  at  present,  a  resident  of  White  Plains,  N.  Y.,  where  for 
many  years,  he  conducted  a  classical  seminary  of  high  reputation. 
The  graveyard  was  for  many  years  disused,  being  finally  removed 
in  1860,  and  "  St.  Ann's  Buildings  "  erected  on  its  site. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  01 

Adjoining  the  southerly  side  of  the  Episcopal  burying  ground 
was  the  Matthew  Gleaves'  property,  extending  along  the  road  to 
a  point  about  midway  between  Tillary  and  Johnson  streets,  and 
back  from  the  road  to  a  point  nearly  midway  between  Wash- 
ington and  Adams  streets.1  On  this  (subsequently  known  as  the 
Tillary)  property,  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  extensive  dry 
goods  store  of  Walter  Lockwood,  stood  the  head  of  Norris  L.  Mar- 
tin's rope  walk,  which  extended  back  to  the  Wallabout  meadows. 
The  next  building  was  Dempsey's  hotel,  "  The  Village  Garden," 
where  the  gay  young  fellows  used  to  go  to  "  shoot  turkey."  Then, 
with  an  intervening  vacant  space,  the  residence  of  Capt.  Samuel 
Angus,  United  States  Navy,  originally  built  by  old  Matthew 
Gleaves.  Then,  the  home  of  old  Mrs.  Miller  (mother  of  Mr.  E. 
G.  Miller),  of  whom  Mormon's  Manuscript  Notes  preserves  the 
following  pleasant  mention  :  "  When  I  was  quite  a  small  boy, 
Brooklyn  was  the  residence  of  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
females  I  ever  knew.  It  was  Mrs.  Miller,  a  highly  respectable, 
well  educated  lady,  who  had  an  energy  of  mind,  and  force  of  will 
possessed  by  few  men.  In  her  active  days,  when  anything  of 
importance  was  to  be  done,  and  lagged  in  its  performance,  it  was 


'Furman  (Manuscript  Notes)  in  noticing  the  rapid  rise  of  value  of  real  estate  in 
Brooklyn,  says  (in  1856)  "  About  fifty  years  ago,  my  father  was  offered  the  '  Matthew 
Gleaves  property,'  at  Tillary  street,  for  $1,000,  and  he  then  thought  the  price  too 
high.  It  was  afterwards  purchased  by  Dr.  Tillary  who  laid  it  out  into  lots,"  and 
our  readers  can  estimate  its  present  value. 

Matthew  Gleaves  is  mentioned  by  De  Voe  (Historical  Magazine,  second  series,  n, 
341),  as  being  in  Brooklyn  as  early  as  1755,  "  at  which  time  he  appeared  to  be  serving, 
or  was  engaged  with,  one  of  the  Horsfields.  The  preparation  for  war  with  the  French 
and  Indians,  at  this  period,  demanded  an  express  rider  from  Brooklyn,  to  convey  the 
necessary  papers  to  the  magistrates  at  the  east  end  of  Long  Island.  Gleaves  became 
thus  employed  by  the  government  officers,  and  for  the  service  he  received  the  sum 
of  five  dollars.  Soon  after,  as  one  of  the  butchers  of  the  old  Fly  Market,  he  became 
engaged  in  a  large  and  profitable  business.  In  1760.  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Rote,  and  purchased  a  fine  property  in  Brooklyn,  just  on  the  rise  of  the  hill,  and 
lying  near  the  old  Ferry  road.  At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  Gleaves, 
with  John  Carpenter,  was  supplying  the  Continental  troops  with  beef.  After  the 
Revolution,  Gleaves  was  again  found  in  the  old  Market,  and  residing  in  Brooklyn, 
with  a  handsome  property."  In  the  description  of  the  property  belonging  once  to 
Alexander  Colden,  it  is  said  to  have  joined,  "  The  land  lately  sold  by  Timothy  Hors- 


92  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

only  necessary  to  enlist  the  sympathies  and  aid  of  Mrs.  Miller, 
and  it  was  almost  certain  to  be  accomplished.  Her  public  spirit 
and  desire  to  serve  and  assist  her  fellow  creatures  was  unbounded. 
I  have  known  her,  in  those  dreadful  fires  which  so  often  devastated 
Brooklyn,  when  I  was  a  boy,  to  go  down  upon  the  ferry  stairs  and 
form  a  line  and  then  stand  in  the  salt  water  up  to  her  knees,  in 
the  night,  passing  along  buckets  of  water  to  supply  the  engines 
employed  in  extinguishing  the  flames."  This  property,  in  1834, 
was  purchased  by  Henry  "Waring,  who  built  thereon  the  house 
where  he  lived  and  died. 

Near  Mrs.  Miller's,  was  Moses  Montgomery,  originally  a 
gardener  with  Isaac  Riley,  the  printer  and  bookbinder  at  Flatbush, 
and  who  subsequently  served  Mr.  H.  B.  Pierrepont  in  the  same 
capacity.  He  was  a  large  powerful  man,  and  his  garden  was 
called  "  Shamrock  Hall."  From  this  garden,  the  Johnson  estate 
extended  up  to  the  line  of  the  Dufiield  estate,  about  the  corner  of 
Adams  and  Willoughby  streets,  where  was  the  head  of  a  rope 
walk  which  extended  along  the  line  of  the  estate,  and  was  leased 
by  James  Engles. 


field  to  Jolin  Kingston,"  which  was  on  the  south  side  of  Fulton  street,  from  high 
water  mark,  up,  over  the  hill.  Another  plot  was  said  to  have  been  "  granted  to  John 
Tallman,  by  the  said  Timothy  Horslield,  in  a  deed  bearing  date  the  third  day  of 
October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three."  One 
other  piece  of  land  was  said  to  be  "  lying  to  the  south-east  of  a  dwelling  house,  about 
five  or  six  rods  distant,  bounded  on  the  north,  by  the  land  belonging  to  Matthew 
Oleaves  ;  south  by  the  land  of  John  Carpenter  ;  and  on  the  west  by  a  road  leading  to 
the  highway."  In  the  year  1786  or  1787,  he  was  one  of  those  who  organized  an 
Episcopal  church,  now  "  St.  Ann's." 

Matthew  Gleaves  is  described  by  those  who  knew  him  well,  as  a  finely  formed 
man,  as  well  as  a  finished  gentleman,  and  one  of  the  best  dressed  in  the  profession. 
He  regarded  personal  appearance  with  particular  care  and  precision.  One  of  his  as- 
sociates says :  "  He  invariably  looked  as  if  he  came  out  of  a  band  box,  when  he 
arrived  at  the  Fly  Market  for  daily  business.  He  usually  wore  silk  breeches,  with 
buckles  to  match,  which  also  fastened  up  the  pearl-white  silk  stockings  which  covered 
bis  well  formed  limbs,  and  in  addition  to  these,  another  pair  of  large  silver  buckles 
garnished  the  highly  polished  shoes  which  completed  this  portion  of  his  understand- 
ing. Above,  on  his  cranium,  he  wore  a  well  powdered  wig,  which  fell  in  a  curling 
roll  around  his  shoulders ;  while  on  the  top  of  all,  gracefully  rested  his  neat  three- 
cornered  hat.     He  died  about  the  year  1800  ;  a  true  gentleman  of  the  olden  school." 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  93 

Walk  the  Second,  over  that  portion  of  the  village  lying  north  and 
east  of  the  Old  Ferry  road  (Fulton  street),  and  along  the  streets  at  that 
time  opened  through  it,  viz:  Water,  Front,  Main,  Prospect,  Sands, 
High,  Concord  and  Nassau  streets. 

Water  street.  On  the  north  side  of  the  street,  between  Old  Ferry 
road  and  Dock  street,  were  but  six  buildings,  of  which  only  two 
challenge  any  especial  notice,  viz  :  Townsend  &  Cox's  (afterwards 
Richard  Mott's),  tavern  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  Marston 
and  Power's  extensive  coal  yard ;  and  the  large  brick  and  stone 
distillery  not  far  from  Dock  street  and  fronting  the  river  and  said  to 
have  been  built  by  John  Jackson.  It  was  here  that  the  Brothers 
Graham  commenced  their  Brooklyn  career  as  distillers,  about 
1816,  and  were  succeeded  by  old  Cunningham,  the  Scotchman  ;l 
and  he  in  turn  by  Robert  Bach,  who  after  a  while  erected  a  dis- 
tillery on  Furman  street.  After  his  removal  the  old  distillery 
wTas  used  for  storage,  etc.,  and  gradually  fell  into  shabby  condition 
and  repute. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  street  between  Old  Ferry  and  Dock 
streets,  we  notice  on  the  corner,  Barnum's  Hotel,  now  succeeded 
by  the  "  Franklin  Hotel ;"  vacant  lots;  the  livery  stables  belonging 
to  the  Townsend  &  Cox  tavern  opposite ;  the  tanyard  of  Losee 
Van  Xostrand  (afterwards  of  Talford  <fc  Van  Xostrand) ;  and  some 
vacant  lots  (extending  nearly  to  the  corner  of  Dock  street)  upon 
which  Alexander  Birbeck  subsequently  erected  his  blacksmithery. 

At  the  foot  of  Dock  street,  a  few  years  later,  was  David  Ander- 
son's2 stone  yard,  and,  from  this  point  there  was  nothing  on  the 
north  side  of  the  street,  which  was  washed  by  the  tide,  except  a 
few  tar  sheds  belonging  to  Mr.  A.  H.  Van  Bokkelin,  until  you 

1  William  Cunningham  was  a  tall,  powerfully  built,  "  canny  "  old  Scotchman,  a 
man  of  very  positive  opinions,  and  unblemished  reputation.  After  he  left  this  place 
he  built  a  distillery  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Washington  streets  (seen  in  (.uiy's  pic- 
ture, No.  12)  and  amassed  a  large  fortune.  He  left  two  sons,  George  and  William, 
and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  married  Mr.  William  M.  Harris,  president  of  the 

a  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Brooklyn. 

2  David  Anderson,  a  native  of  Scotland,  came  to  Brooklyn  about  1809  :  was  trustee 
of  the  village  in  1825,  a  worthy  man  and  a  much  esteemed  citizen.  He  died  in  Mav, 
1839. 


94  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

came  within  fifty  or  sixty  feet  of  Main  street,  to  a  small  black- 
smith's shop,  and  next  it,  on  the  corner,  a  large  frame  building 
used  for  storage  of  salt,  and  at  present  occupied  by  the  pump 
and  block  factory  of  the  Murdock  Brothers. 

On  the  east  side,  between  Dock  and  Main  streets,  were  the 
rears  of  Augustus  Graham's  and  Joshua  Sands'  gardens;  the 
dwelling  of  William  Corn  well,  the  tailor  and  a  vestryman  of  St. 
Ann's,  of  which  church  he  was,  also,  for  many  years,  the  treasurer ; 
and,  on  the  south-west  corner  of  Water  and  Main  streets,  a 
tavern  and  livery  stable  kept  by  Whitehead  Howard,  and  in  which 
one  of  the  Bownes  was  interested. 

At  the  foot  of  Main  street  was  the  "  New,"  or  Catharine  street 
Ferry,  and  a  small  public  market,  bearing  a  close  resemblance  to 
that  at  the  Fulton  Ferry,  and  commonly  known  as  "  Titus' 
market "  from  the  fact  that  Abiel  Titus  kept  a  butcher's  stand  there. 

On  the  north-east  corner  of  Main  and  Water  streets  was  Van 
Winkle's  tavern  and  grocery,  and  a  little  beyond,  a  cooper's  shop  ; 
and  on  the  south-east  corner,  a  grocery  kept  by  Peter  Snyder, 
who  was  also  a  ferryman  upon  the  New  ferry  ;  and  from  this  point 
to  near  the  line  of  the  present  Bridge  street,  was  an  open  sand- 
beach,1  upon  which  the  ship  and  dock  builders  of  New  York  were 
accustomed  to  moor  their  timber  rafts,  which  had  been  floated 
down  the  North  river,  and  were  sold  and  delivered  from  this  spot. 
From  the  beach  the  land  rose  gradually  into  hills,  and  near  the 
foot  of  one  of  these  eminences,  about  eighty  feet  eastward  of  where 
the  present  Adams  street  comes  to  the  river,  stood  the  famous 
"  old  Tulip  Tree,"  described  on  page  390  of  our  first  volume.  It  is 
said  to  have  measured  thirty  feet  at  its  lower  and  twenty-five  feet 
at  its  upper,  circumference,  having,  according  to  tradition,  been 
brought  to  this  spot  from  the  woods  in  the  pocket  of  the  person 
who  transplanted  it. 

On  a  high  hill  near  the  line  of  the  present  Bridge  street  was  a 
large  establishment  called  "  Mount  Prospect  Tavern,"  a  great 


1  Main  street  was  between  high  and  low  water  mark,  until  it  reached  the  corner  of 
present  Pearl  street ;  then,  the  water  lines  ran  out  to  the  corner  of  the  present  Gold 
street  and  thence,  along  the  line  of  the  present  Marshall  street,  to  the  navy  yard. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  95 

resort  of  the  New  York  rowdies  who  used  to  come  over  in  row- 
boats  from  the  city,  accompanied  by  their  girls,  and  hold  high 
carnival  here.  Drunkenness,  fighting,  noise  and  profanity  had 
"  full  swing"  here,  unchecked  by  any  fear  of  the  New  York  au- 
thorities or  village  constables. 

On  the  north-east  corner  of  Water  and  Bridge  street  was  a 
large  frame  building  known  as  "the  Red  Stores"  used  as  a  hay 
press  by  the  Messrs.  Thorne,  with  a  dock  in  front,  upon  which  the 
bay  sloops  discharged  their  cargoes.  From  this  point  to  the  pre- 
sent Little  street,  were  only  high  sand  hills,  with  here  and  there 
a  shabby  house. 

Upon  the  south-west  corner  of  Water  and  Little  street  was  an 
old  tavern,  kept  by  one  Scott,  and  torn  down,  after  his  death,  by  his 
widow,  who  erected  a  new  house  upon  the  spot,  which  was  kept 
as  an  inn  for  many  years  after.  In  1817,  Capt.  Evans  then  com- 
mandant at  the  United  States  navy  yard,  opened,  mainly  for  his 
convenience,  a  gate  into  the  yard,  on  the  line  of  Water  street;  and, 
in  connection  with  John  Little,  established  a  ferry  from  the  foot 
of  Little  street  to  Walnut  (near  Jackson)  street,  New  York,  (as 
they  said)  for  the  accommodation  of  the  mechanics  and  others 
employed  in  the  yard.  The  establishment  of  the  ferry  was  speedily 
followed  by  the  erection  of  a  number  of  dwellings,  on  the  eastern 
line  of  Little  street,  up  to  the  navy  yard  wall.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street  and  against  the  navy  yard  wall,  Little  set  up  a 
tavern;  and,  adjoining  him,  Barney  Henrietta,  a  Irish  sawyer  in 
the  yard,  purchased  a  house  and  lot  which  he  occupied  until  his 
death  in  1825.  Grog  shops  arose  in  all  directions  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  real  estate  commanded  a  better  price  than  it  then 
did  at  the  Fulton  ferry.  Upon  the  hill,  immediately  in  the  rear 
of  Henrietta's  house,  was  erected  a  building,  the  first  floor  of 
which  was  occupied  as  a  "  Shooting  Gallery,"  and,  in  the  upper 
part  which  overlooked  the  interior  of  the  navy  yard,  was  placed 
a  "  shuffle  board."  This  building  overlooking  the  navy  yard  was 
a  great  place  of  resort  for  those  who  wished  to  obtain  a  view 
thereof;  the  principal  attraction,  at  that  time,  being  the  building 
of  the  United  States  line  of  battle  ship,  Ohio,  by  Henry  Eckford, 
which  was  launched  in  May,  1820. 


96  •  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Front  street,  west  side.     We  commence  our  walk  through  this 

7  o 

street  at  the  Remsen  house  which  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  old 
Rapalje  house  (vol.  i,  78,  79,  312).  Next  to  this  building,  during 
the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  Revolutionary  war  (1784- 
1815),  there  had  been  an  old  two-story  frame  dwelling  occupied 
by  Dr.  Barbarin,  the  first  settled  physician  of  Brooklyn ;  while, 
next  beyond,  with  an  intervening  space,  was  a  small  frame  dwelling 
belonging  to  the  Rapalje  estate.  It  will  be  remembered,  by  the 
readers  of  our  first  volume,  that  this  estate,  comprising  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,1  had  been  purchased,  from  the  com- 
missioners of  forfeiture  by  Messrs.  Comfort  and  Joshua  Sands,  who 
paid  for  it,  it  is  said,  in  soldier's  pay  certificates  which  they  had 
bought  up  in  large  quantities  at  a  rate  of  discount  which  made 
the  operation  a  very  good  speculation  for  them.  Old  Mrs.  Rapalje, 
the  mother  of  John  Rapalje,  by  virtue  of  some  right  in  the 
property,  refused  to  give  possession,  which  necessitated  the  official 
interference  of  the  sheriff,  who  put  the  old  lady  out  into  the  street, 
in  her  arm  chair. 

The  Sands  Brothers  were  from  Cow  Neck,  since  called  Sands' 
Point,  Queens  County,  L.  I.,  at  which  place  their  great  grand- 
father was  an  original  settler.2 

Comfort  Sands,  the  eldest,  was  born  February  26th,  1748,  served  during 
his  early  life  as  a  clerk  in  a  store  of  his  native  village ;  and  went  to  New 
York,  in  1762,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  merchant  in  Peck  Slip. 
In  1769,  he  commenced  business  on  his  own  account  and  also  married;  was 
successful  and  had  amassed  a  considerable  fortune  before  the  opening  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  In  March,  1776,  he  purchased  a  small  farm  at  New 
Rochelle,  but,  upon  the  approach  of  the  British  troops,  removed  his  family 
to  Philadelphia,  thence  to  Rochester,  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.,  where  they  re- 
mained until  1778;  thence  to  Poughkeepsie  and  again  to  Philadelphia,  where 
they  remained  until  the  Declaration  of  Peace,  in  1783,  when  he  settled  per- 
manently at  New  York. 

1  Bounded  on  the  north,  by  a  line  drawn  about  one  hundred  feet  northerly  of  Gold 
street,  on  the  east  by  a  line  about  one  hundred  feet  westerly  of  Tillary  street,  on  the 
southerly  side  by  Fulton  street  to  its  j  unction  with  Main,  and  thence  by  James  street 
and  through  Front  to  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  so,  in  a  straight  line,  to  the  East  river, 
which  formed  its  westerly  bounds.     (See,  also,  note  3,  p.  78,  vol.  i). 

9  Thompson's  History  of  Long  Island,  h,  463  -  469. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  97 

During  the  whole  of  this  trying  period,  he  sustained  the  character  oi  an 
active  and  useful  patriot.  He  served,  from  November,  177o.  to  July,  1776, 
as  a  member  of  the  New  Y/ork  provincial  congress,  and  was  then  chosen,  by 
the  New  Y'ork  convention,  as  auditor-general  of  the  state,  at  a  salary  oi" 
£300.  This  office  he  resigned,  in  October,  1781,  and,  with  his  brothers 
Richardson  and  Joshua,  took  a  contract  to  supply  the  northern  army  with 
provisions  for  the  year  1782.  In  the  following  year,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  brother  Joshua,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  and  lucrative  mercan- 
tile business,  until  179-4.  During  this  period  he  represented  the  city  several 
times  in  the  assembly.  He  was  twice  married,  and  died  at  Hoboken,  N.  .).. 
September  22d.  1*34.  aged  eighty  six  years.  As  a  merchant;  one  of  the 
first  directors  of  the  old  bank  of  New  Y/ork  and  presideut  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  he  held  a  high  position  in  the  mercantile  circles  of  his  day.1 
Yet,  he  lived  to  see  his  large  property  pass  away  from  his  hands  and  himself 
reduced  to  comparative  poverty.  He,  also,  outlived  all  his  children,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  died  without  issue.  By  his  second  wife,  he  was  the 
father  of  Robert  C.  Sands,  whose  varied  attainments  and  fine  intellectual 
powers  rendered  his  early  death  a  serious  loss  to  American  literature. 

His  younger  brother,  Joshua  Sands,  who  became  more  intimately  identi- 
fied with  Brooklyn,  by  the  purchase  of  the  Rapalje  estate,  was  also  born  at 
Sands'  Point,  October  12th,  1757.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  commenced 
his  business  life  as  a  clerk;  but.  in  1776,  was  invited  by  Col.  Trumbull,  of 
Connecticut,  to  accept  a  position  in  the  commissariat  department  of  the 
American  army,  with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  is  said  to  have  contributed 
very  material  aid  in  facilitating  the  retreat  of  the  American  army  from 
Long  Island,  after  the  battle  of  August  26th,  1776.  The  inactivity  of  so  quiet 
a  position  in  such  threatening  times  little  accorded  with  his  active  habit.-,  and 
therefore,  in  1777  he  together  with  his  brothers  Richardson  and  Comfort,  ten- 
dered proposals  for  the  supply  of  clothing  and  provisions  to  the  northern 
army.  These  were  accepted  by  Robert  Morris,  and  were  faithfully  carried 
out  on  their  part;  but  the  scarcity  of  means  at  the  command  of  the  treasury 
department  not  allowing  of  a  fulfillment  of  the  contract  on  the  part  of 
government  they  became  great  sufferers,  although  afterwards  partially  reim- 
bursed by  a  special  act  of  congress.  At  the  close  of  the  war.  he  became  a 
partner  with  his  brother  Comfort  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and,  in  1784.  tin  y 
became  the  purchasers  of  the  Rapalje  estate,  as  already  stated.  In  1786,  he 
removed  his  residence  to  Brooklyn  and  built  for  himself,  on  his  new  pur- 
chase,  a  handsome  frame  mansion,  about  fifty  feet  square  and  furnished  with 

'See,  for  further  details,  Thompson**  History  of  Long  Island,  n,  400,  467. 
13 


98  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

remarkable  elegance  for  that  day.  This  house,  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
Front  street,  about  a  hundred  feet  east  of  Dock  street  (his  coach  house  and 
stables  being  on  the  opposite  side  of  Front  street),  was  the  largest  in  the  vil- 
lage at  the  time,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  fine  garden  which  extended  to 
the  river.  The  mansion  subsequently  came  into  the  possession  of  John 
B.  Cazeaux,  Esq.,  who  in  July,  1824,  converted  it  into  two  dwellings, 
one  remaining  as  No.  25  Front  street.  About  this  time,  also,  Mr.  Sands 
made  another  addition  to  the  material  interests  of  the  town  with  which 
he  had  become  identified  by  residence.  Conceiving  the  idea  of  manu- 
facturing the  cordage  and  rigging  for  his  own  vessels,  he  imported  both 
machinery  and  workmen  from  England,  and  established  here  extensive  rope 
walks  which  .became  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  most  important  branch  of 
industry.  Mr.  Sands  rapidly  became  a  man  of  mark  in  the  community  ; 
represented  this  district  in  the  state  senate,  from  1792  to  1798;  was  made 
a  member  of  the  council  of  appointment  for  the  southern  district  of  New 
York,  in  January,  1797,  and  was  judge  of  the  county  of  Kings.  In  1797 
he  was,  on  the  recommendation  of  Grov.  Jay,  appointed  collector  of  the  customs 
of  the  port  of  New  York,  from  which  office  he  was  removed  by  President  Jef- 
ferson in  1801 .  He  was,  also,  president  of  the  Merchant's  Bank;  and,  in  1803  - 
1805,  represented  this  district  in  congress,  to  which  he  was  again  sent  in 
1825-1827.  In  1824,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Brooklyn,  with  which  village  he  was  always  prominently  connected  in  politi- 
cal, religious  and  social  affairs,  and  which  he  lived  to  see  an  incorporated 
and  thriving  city.  He  died  September  13th,  1835,  universally  respected,  it 
having  been  justly  said  of  him,  that  "  no  man  enjoyed  more  fully  the  esteem 
and  confidence  of  the  inhabitants,  without  distinction  of  party,  and  all  his 
official  duties  were  performed  with  singular  ability,  and  fidelity.  To  an 
amiable  disposition  and  great  goodness  of  heart  he  united  a  high-toned  spirit 
of  independence  and  an  indomitable  tenacity  of  purpose  which  never  swerved 
when  he  thought  he  was  right/'  He  had  twelve  children,  some  of  whom  are 
yet  living. 

Of  his  amiable  wife,  we  purpose  to  speak  more  at  length,  in  connection 
with  St.  Ann's  church,  with  which  her  memory  is  indissolubly  connected. 

"We  have  thus  described  Front  street  as  it  appeared  during  the 
first  few  years  succeeding  the  revolution.     The  visitor  of  1815, 

^is  popularity  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  in  February,  1793,  when  nomi- 
nated for  congress,  he  received  in  Kings  county  425  votes  (228  in  Brooklyn)  against 
32  received  by  Henry  Peters,  and  12  by  Thomas  Treadwell,  his  competitors. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKL1  v  99 

however,  would  have  found  the  appearance  of  the  .street  some- 
what changed.  Passing  by  the  brick  Remsen  house,  and  two 
vacant  lots,  lie  would  have  come  to  a  modern  brick  house  owned 
by  Mr.  John  Cox,  a  merchant  of  New  York,  and  an  estimable  citi- 
zen, whose  sudden  death,  being  killed  in  attempting  to  jump 
aboard  the  ferry  boat  as  it  was  leaving  the  dock,  was  among  the 
first  of  those  ferry  accidents  which  have  since  unhappily  grown  so 
frequent ;  then  to  John  Fisher's  three  yellow  brick  houses.1  John 
(whom  we  have  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  Diana 
Bapalje,  his  second  wife)  lived  in  the  corner  house  (on  Dock 
street),  his  garden  extending  back  to  Water  street.  On  the  other 
side  of  Dock  street  was  the  substantial  brick  house,  yet  standing, 
and  occupied  as  the  office  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Newtown  Rail 
Road  Company.  This  was  built  by  Augustus  Graham,  in  1814 
or  1815,  on  land  which  originally  formed  a  portion  of  the  Joshua 
Sands'  garden,  and  which  he  purchased  in  1806,  at  the  sale  of  the 
Messrs.  Sands'  real  estate  under  foreclosure  of  a  mortgage  held  by 
the  Bank  of  New  York.  On  the  rear  of  this  property  (corner  of 
Water  and  Dock  streets)  Mr.  Graham  subsequently  erected  his 
white  lead  manufactory.  Then  passing  Sands'  mansion  and 
several  vacant  lots,  he  would  notice  an  old-fashioned  two-story 
house  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  Rapalje  family  and  after- 
wards occupied  by  Mr.  Adrian  H.  Yan  Bokkelin,  merchant, 
whose  tar-sheds  on  the  rear  of  this  lot,  we  have  already  noticed  in 
our  walk  through  Water  street.  Then  Robert  Bach's  house,  after- 
wards occupied  by  John  Benson  ;  and,  with  another  interval,  the 
two-story  frame  dwelling  of  William  Corn  well,  the  tailor.  This 
brings  us  to  the  north-west  corner  of  Front  and  Main  streets, 
which  was  occupied  by  a  two-story  frame  grocery,  in  which,  we 
believe  the  late  Edward  Copeland,  mayor  of  Brooklyn,  commenced 
business. 

The  southerly  side  of  Front  street,  from  Old  Ferry  to  Main 
streets  is  well  represented  in  Guy's  Picture.1     First,  on  the  corner 

1  Present  Xos.  9,  11  and  13  Front  street. 

2 Guy's  "Snow  Scene,"  representing  the  most  important  and  compact  portion  of 
Brooklyn  as  it  stood  in  1820,  will  forever  be  invaluable  as  exhibiting  the  architect- 
ural character  of  the  village  at  that  period  ;  and,  in  some  degree  for  half  a  century 


100  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

of  the  Old  Ferry  road  was  the  Thomas  W.  Birdsall  house  and  store 
(Guy's  Picture  No  1)  then  Abiel  Titus'  yard  and  his  slaughter 
house  (Guy's  Picture  No.  9)  on  the  corner  of  the  present  James 
street,  which,  however,  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  was  simply 
a  passage   way  up  from  Front  street,    containing   a   few   small 

previous.  It  was  taken  from  a  second  story  window  of  the  artist's  residence,  the  middle 
one  (present  No.  11  Front  street),  of  the  three  Fisher  houses.1 

In  order  to  properly  understand  this  picture  (a  reduced  copy  of  which  is  herewith 
presented)  the  modern  observer  should  place  himself  near  the  corner  of  Front  and 
Dock  streets,  and  look  up  James  street  on  the  opposite  side.  He  will,  then,  look  along 
Front  street,  on  his  left  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  to  Main  street,  indicated  by  horses 
and  teams  passing  up  from  the  Main  Street  Ferry ;  and,  on  his  right,  to  Fulton 
street,  which  is  indicated  by  the  horse  and  sleigh  passing  down  to  the  Old  or  Fulton 
Ferry.  A  confusion  of  ideas  is  generally  produced  in  the  mind  of  the  modern  observer 
by  mistaking  the  rears  of  the  old  buildings  directly  in  the  front  of  the  picture,  for 
their  fronts.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  fronts,  which  are  on  Fulton 
street,  are  invisible.  Tracing,  however,  the  line  of  roofs  and  rears  by  the  aid  of  the- 
key  which  we  have  appended  to  this  picture,  the  reader  will  be  able  to  follow  Fulton 
street  up  as  far  as  Sands  street.  The  high  grounds  on  the  right  of  the  picture  have 
been  levelled  and  streets  graded,  so  that  nothing  of  their  original  conformation  is  now 
visible. 

Of  its  merits  as  a  work  of  art,  our  readers  can  judge  for  themselves,  by  visiting  it 
at  the  Brooklyn  Institute  ;  of  its  accuracy  and  value  as  a  historic  painting,  we  have 
the  united  testimony  of  all  our  oldest  inhabitants,  in  its  favor.  The  following  in- 
teresting cotemporaneous  notice  is  from  the  New  York  Columbian  :  "  It  is  a  winter 
snow  scene,  taken  from  Guy's  paint  room  window,  in  Front  street,  Brooklyn.  The 
sky  is  grand,  a  bright  glow  of  warmth  in  the  east  is  finely  contrasted  by  a  cold,  dark 
towering  cloud  in  the  west ;  under  which  the  snow-clad  buildings  receive  a  blaze  of 
light  from  the  morning  sun  ;  and  from  the  breakfast  cooking  fires  the  smoke  ascends 
from  almost  every  chimney,  and  on  one  (with  fine  effect)  a  sweep-boy  sits  singing  to 
let  his  employers  know  he  is  at  the  top.  As  to  the  view  in  general,  as  some  perhaps 
would  term  it,  the  composition  of  the  picture  seems  as  if  it  had  been  contrived  and 
formed  for  the  pencil ;  for,  although  the  painter  has  a  view  upon  three  different  streets, 
not  two  buildings  are  to  be  seen  alike,  either  in  size,  shape,  or  color ;  and  the  stables, 
barns,  and  old  back  buildings  of  Mr.  Titus  stand  well  contrasted  with  the  handsome 
buildings  of  Messrs.  Sands,  Graham,  Birdsall,  etc. 

"  As  to  the  likenesses  introduced,  most  of  them  are  very  striking,  and  the  accuracy 
with  which  their  faces  are  painted  (the  small  size  of  the  figures  considered)  is  won- 
derful. Mr.  Titus  is  represented  standing  in  his  gateway  feeding  chickens,  and 
a  good  likeness  of  his  cow  feeding  in  the  yard,  and  a  fine  red  bullock  standing  outside 
the  gate,  waiting  for  admission.  Near  this  is  a  likeness  of  a  negro  skin-dresser  going 
to  the  swamp  for  water ;  this  figure  seems  to  be  alive.  At  the  pump  a  genteel  country 
lad,  on  horseback,  is  requesting  a  girl  to  give  his  horse  a  drink  of  water  out  of  her 

1  Fronting  the  wood  pile  where  the  sawyers,  in  the  picture,  are  engaged. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL\  N.  101 

buildings,  mostly  occupied  by  negroes.  On  the  opposite  corner 
of  the  alley  was  the  carpenter's  shop  and  dwelling  (Gny'fl 
Picture,  No.  10)  of  Benjamin  Meeker,  who  came  to  Brooklyn 
from  Springfield,  N".  J.,  probahly  in  1809,  in  July,  of  which 
year  he  commenced  business  in  Main  street  (firm   of  Meeker 

pail.     On  the  ice  near  the  pump,  a  negro  boy  has  tumbled  down   with  his  pail ; 

another  boy  stands  by  laughing-  at  his  misfortune.  On  the  foreground  is  the  likeness 
of  a  wood  sawyer  in  the  act  of  sawing,  and  the  cord  wood  around  him  is  surely  one  of 
the  best  deceptions  ever  painted.  On  the  same  line  lies  a  chaldron  of  pit  coal  .Wist 
delivered,  and  the  carman,  as  if  waiting  for  his  money,  is  leaning  against  the  tail  of 
his  cart  holding  a  laughing  conversation  with  another  negro,  whose  business  (if  he 
would  mind  it)  is  to  shovel  in  the  coal.  On  the  foreground  pavement  is  seen  Mrs. 
Guy,  and  several  other  ladies  who  would  be  known  by  their  correct  and  striking 
likenesses.  In  the  street,  by  the  side  of  a  sleigh  track,  stands  Mr.  Birdsall  in  conversa- 
tion with  Mr.  Jacob  Hicks,  and  near  them  Mr.  Garrison  and  Mr.  Meeker. 

"  On  the  pavement  near  their  own  dwellings  stands  Mr.  Sands  with  Mr.  Graham. 
All  this  with  dung  carts,  sleighs,  wheel-barrows,  capering  boys,  grubbing  swine,  barn 
door  fowls,  and  quarreling  dogs  form  one  of  the  most  natural,  lively  and  fascinating 
pictures  I  ever  beheld.  Thus  have  I  given  a  brief  description  of  the  picture,  and  quite 
forgot  one  of  the  most  striking  productions  in  it,  namely,  Mr.  Patchen,  the  butcher, 
who  is  crossing  Front  street  with  a  fore-quarter  of  mutton  in  one  hand,  and  a  basket 
in  the  other." 

Francis  Guy  was  born  at  Burton,  in  Kendal,  England,  in  the  year  1760.  His 
father  was  a  farmer  and  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  John  Lolly,  of  Kirby-Lons- 
dale,  an  eminent  glass  painter  and  stainer,  and  reputed  to  be,  in  his  day,  the  only 
person  living  in  England  or  Europe  who  possessed  the  ancient  secret  of  glass- 
staining.  William,  at  an  early  age,  developed  a  strong  taste  for  the  beautiful  in 
art  and  nature  ;  but  his  father  was  very  unwilling  to  have  him  become  an  artist  ; 
and,  finally,  by  force  and  much  against  the  lad's  will,  apprenticed  him  to  a  tailor  of 
Burton.  Here  he  was  so  cruelly  used  that  he  was  frequently  obliged,  from  hunger, 
to  dig  out  a  cabbage  from  under  the  snow  to  obtain  a  scanty  breakfast,  To  these 
miseries,  also,  were  added  the  pangs  of  an  unrequited  affection,  and  the  disappointment 
which  he  felt  at  being  unable  to  follow  those  nobler  pursuits  towards  which  all 
his  aspirations  tended.  Finally,  however,  he  cut  loose  from  this  bondage  and 
wandered  around,  in  many  places,  supporting  himself  by  tailoring  ;  until,  in  November, 
1778,  he  entered  London,  tired,  hungry  and  utterly  friendless.  For  awhile,  he. 
suffered  extremely  from  hunger;  but,  fortunately  obtaining  a  place  as  a  foreman  in 
a  tailoring  establishment,  he  managed  by  industry  and  rigid  economy  to  secure  a 
slender  capital,  with  which  he  established  himself  in  business.  About  the  same  time, 
also,  lie  married  a  most  excellent  woman,  of  whose  companionship,  however,  be  was 
soon  after  deprived  by  death.  Being  of  an  inventive  turn  of  mind  he  devised 
machinery  for  calendering  or  glazing  silks  and  calicoes,  which  secured  him  a  large 
trade  in  London  ;  and,  at  length,  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  Lady  Mary  Howe,  by 
whom  he  was  introduced  to  the  patronage  of  the  Queen,  and  he  was  shortly  after 


102       .  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

&  Colles),  as  house  carpenter  and  cabinet-maker,  but  the  partner- 
ship was  soon  dissolved  in  1812.  He  was  a  quiet,  unassuming 
man;  a  "good  Clintonian"  in  politics ;  originally  an  attendant  at 
the  Methodist  church,  but  afterwards  a  Presbyterian;  was  a 
member  of  the  Mechanics  Association,  and  died  in  1849,  much 

appointed  dyer  and  calenderer  to  Her  Majesty.  Getting  into  trouble  with  a  gang 
of  swindlers  who  intruded  themselves  upon  his  confidence  and  finally  threatened  his 
life,  he  left  England  and  came  to  New  York,  in  September,  1795.  Soon  after  his 
arrival,  he  was  seized  with  symptoms  resembling  those  of  the  yellow  fever  (then  pre- 
vailing in  that  city)  and  strolled  through  Brooklyn  and  Flatbush,  vainly  seeking 
shelter  and  repose.  At  length,  a  kind  tavern  keeper  and  his  wife  named  Ailesworth 
(Ellsworth)  living  near  the  toll-gate,  took  him  in,  and  (despite  the  remonstrances  of 
neighbors  and  others,  who  believed  that  he  had  the  dreaded  fever)  nursed  him  through 
his  illness  with  a  fidelity  and  tenderness  which  he  narrates  with  the  most  affecting 
gratitude,  in  his  manuscript  autobiography.  In  November,  1796,  he  formed  a 
partnership,  for  the  prosecution  of  the  silk  dyeing,  scouring  and  calendering  business, 
with  John  Harmer,  who  erected  a  factory  in  Brooklyn  for  the  use  of  his  machinery ; 
but,  failing  to  receive  expected  funds  from  England,  from  the  lawyer  employed  to 
settle  up  his  affairs,  Guy  was  obliged  to  dissolve  the  partnership,  and  removed  to 
Philadelphia.  Here  he  painted  a  picture  of  the  Tontine  Coffee  House,  New  York, 
which  won  the  admiration  of  President  John  Adams  and  others,  none  of  whom,  how- 
ever, purchased  it ;  and  it  was  finally  disposed  of  by  a  raffle  which  yielded  barely 
sufficient  to  pay  for  paints  and  canvas.  He  then  went  to  Baltimore,  where  he  resided 
for  several  years,  enduring  much  hardship  and  many  misfortunes,  working  occasion- 
ally at  dyeing,  but  overcoming  all  trials  by  good  principles  and  energy.  During  his 
whole  life  he  worked,  at  intervals,  at  landscape  painting,  which  was  the  subject  of 
his  bent  and  genius,  and  which  claimed  his  undying  devotion.  When,  in  Baltimore, 
his  dye  works  were  burned,  leaving  him  penniless,  he  contrived  to  establish  his  wife 
in  a  small  business,  and  gave  his  own  attention,  thenceforth,  exclusively  to  his  darling 
pursuit.  He  began  to  prosper ;  and,  at  the  time  of  writing  his  autobiography, 
(about  1808)  he  says  "the  principal  connoisseurs  in  America  approve  and  recommend 
my  pictures.  Last  spring,  in  Baltimore  only,  I  disposed  of  paintings  to  the  amount 
of  $1,500.  For  several  years  past,  I  have  labored  to  imitate  the  ancients  in  their 
method  of  coloring  and  effect,  and  I  hope  I  have  not  labored  in  vain.  Many  of  my 
pictures,  which  have  been  recently  finished,  have  been  taken  by  the  best  judges  to 
be  one  hundred  years  of  age."  Guy  returned  to  Brooklyn  about  the  year  1817,  took 
the  Fisher  House  (No.  11  Front  street)  and  devoted  himself  mainly  to  his  chief  work 
which  undoubtedly  is  his  "  Brooklyn  Snow  Scene."1     Previously  to  this  it  is  known 

1  To  show  the  nature  of  the  matters  which  also  occupied  his  mind  during  this  time,  and  which  are 
curiously  illustrative  of  his  peculiar  mechanical  talents,  we  subjoin  the  following  advertisements, 
from  the  Star,  of  March  8, 1820 : 

PEOPOSALS  FOR  PUBLISHING  BY  Subscription,  A  Treatise  ON  DOMESTIC  DYEING;  ALSO  A 
Treatise  on  LANDSCAPE  PAINTING ;  with  an  Account  of  the  Author's  Life  ;  By  Francis 
Guy,  Landscape  Painter,  and  formerly  Dyer,  Orris  cleaner,  and  Calenderer  to  tlie  late  Queen  and 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  103 

respected.  His  portrait  is  one  of  those  given  in  Guy's  Picture. 
Next,  with  an  intervening  vacant  lot,  was  Mrs.  Chester's  (Guv's 
Picture  No  ll)1  memorable  as  the  "  Cradle  of  the  Drama,"  in 
Brooklyn,  a  two-story  house  with  a  long  stoop  in  front;  and  then 
(Guy's  Picture,  No.  12)  a  large  brick  house,  old  Mr.  Cunningham's 
1  See  Chapter  on  the  Drama  in  Brooklyn. 

that  he  indulged,  at  intervals,  in  the  habit  of  drinking,  even  to  excess ;  although  against 
his  full  and  clear  knowledge  of  the  results  of  Buchpractice,  and  despite  the  dec],  repent- 
ance and  remorse  which  always  followed  such  indulgence.  Yet,  we  learn,  that,  while 
engaged  upon  this  picture,  he  was  abstemious  and  sober,  the  excitement  of  his  work 
being  sufficient  for  him.  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Birdsall  relates  that  Guy,  as  he  painted, 
would  sometimes  call  out  of  the  window,  to  his  subjects,  as  he  caught  sight  of 
them  on  their  customary  ground,  to  stand  still,  while  he  put  in  the  characteristic 
strokes.  Mr.  Birdsall  was  in  the  daily  habit  of  riding  on  horseback  and  kept  his 
horse  in  a  stable  on  James  street.  Guy  seized  him  just  in  the  position  shown  in  the 
picture.  So,  also,  Jacob  Hicks,  whose  house  is  just  visible  on  the  corner  of  Main 
street,  was  "  brought  to  a  halt  "  goose  in  hand  ;  and,  after  he  had  been  sketched, 
politely  sent  the  goose  as  a  present  to  the  painter,  that  he  might  "  sketch  the  fowl 
more  deliberately,  and  eat  him  afterward." 

Mrs.  Guy,  a  second  wife,  and  some  ten  years  older  than  her  husband,  was  a  good 
religious  woman,  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church.     They  had  no  children,  and 

Princesses  of  England,  and  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  York,  at  No.  10,  Lower  James  street, 
Golden  Square,  England.  The  treatise  on  Domestic  Dyeing  is  intended  to  instruct  families  in  the 
most  simple,  plain  and  easy  manner,  how  to  Dye  and  Dress  all  kinds  of  silks,  mohair  shawls, 
etc.,  whether  formed  into  gowns,  cloaks,  bonnets,  shawls,  coats,  etc.  Also  how  to  Scour  woolen 
garments,  and  remove  from  them  spots  of  paint  and  grease  ;  and  also  to  Dye  calicoes,  linens  or 
muslins,  colours  suitable  for  gowns,  bed  furniture,  window  curtains,  etc.  *  *  * 

"  The  History  of  the  Author's  Life  abounds  with  an  uncommon  variety  of  amusing  facts,  and  in 
a  moral  point  of  view,  may  be  rendered  extremely  useful,  it  shows  the  different  kind  of  stratagems, 
that  deceitful  men  make  use  of  to  ensnare  the  unsuspicious,  sets  a  mark  upon  the  covered  pits  into 
which  the  unwary  travellers  through  life  are  in  danger  of  falling  ;  and  a  number  of  melancholy  in- 
Btances  of  the  sad  effects  of  Deism,  and  the  lives  and  awfid  deaths  of  some  of  its  professors,  etc. 

"  Plain  directions  will  also  be  given  at  the  conclusion  of  the  work,  how  to  make  Durable  Car- 
pets of  common  Hanging  Paper,  the  author  having  received  a  patent  for  the  discovery,  but  will,  in 
this  way,  give  it  to  the  public."  This  work  was  to  be  published  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of 
subscribers  could  be  obtained,  at  a  price  "  not  more,  and  probably  less,  than  $1.50  percopy."  With 
the  Patent  Paper  Carpet,  above  referred  to,  Guy  covered  the  floor  of  the  room  (JS  William  street.  New 
York,  in  which,  in  July,  1819,  he  opened  to  public  view  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
"  Landscapes,  Sea  and  Haibor  Paintings." 

Also, ;'  To  whom  it  may  concern  :  Be  it  known,  that  as  pins  are  fixed  in  the  cylinder  of  a  hand 
organ,  to  touch  the  respective  keys,  and  play  a  tune  according  to  the  gamut,  on  the  same  principle 
the  subscriber  has  discovered  a  method  of  weaving  any  pattern  that  ever  was  or  ever  can  be  wove, 
and  has  long  since  given  notice  of  the  same  to  Dr.  Thornton,  at  the  patent  office  in  the  city  of 
Washington.  Francis  Guy,  Landscape  Painter,  Brooklyn. 

"N.  B.— The  above  discovery  will  enable  the  American  manufacturers  to  weave  the  mosl  intricate 
patterns,  such  as  Marseilles  quilting,  all  kinds  of  carpeting,  damask,  knotted  counterpanes,  etc..  etc., 
with  as  much  ease  and  nearly  as  cheap  as  the  plainest  fabricks.    .  F.  G." 

(Star,  April  12, 1820). 


104       .  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

residence,  still  standing ;  then  an  alley,  which  is  now  called  Garrison 
street.  Between  this  alley  and  Main  street,  (Guy's  Picture  No.  13) 
were  about  six  lots  of  ground  occupied  as  a  wood  and  lumber 
yard,  by  Jacob  Hicks,  who  lived  on  the  corner.  "  Wood  Hicks," 
as  he  was  called  —  the  better  to  distinguish  him  from  several 
others  of  the  same  name  —  was  a  clever  jolly,  old  man,  with  a 

lier  husband  was  much  attached  to  her,  and  did  much  to  secure  her  good  opinion  ; 
while  she,  at  times,  was  obliged  to  submit  to  his  foibles  and  humor  his  faults. 

The  picture  was,  at  length,  completed  and  exposed  to  public  view,  visited  by  all, 
and  much  admired.  The  scene  then  stood  precisely  as  represented  upon  the  can- 
vas, and  every  actor  in  it  was  then  alive.  With  the  completion  of  his  work,  how- 
ever, the  strictness  of  his  resolution  of  abstinence  was  relaxed,  and  he  began  to  send 
his  wife  out  for  brandy.  On  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  August,  1820,  he  had  been 
out,  and  on  his  return  home  sent  her  to  a  neighboring  store  for  the  desired  stimulant, 
which  she  procured,  and  of  which  he  continued  to  drink  freely,  until  some  extra- 
ordinary demonstration  on  his  part  led  her  to  rush  into  the  street  and  call  in  the 
neighbors.  Ralph  Malbone,  Thos.  W.  Birdsall,  Jerome  Schenck  and  others  were 
present  when  it  became  evident  that  he  was  near  his  end.  He  was  entirely  wild, 
babbled  confusedly,  and  quoted  Shakespeare.  Guy  was  of  medium  size,  with 
a  sallow  complexion  and  black  eyes.  He  possessed  an  ardent  temperament  and  a 
social  and  convivial  disposition.  His  talents  were  of  a  high  order,  and  with  little 
elementary  instruction  he  had  much  improved  his  mind  by  general  reading. 
Shakespeare  was  his  favorite  author,  and  constantly  quoted  by  him.  He  was, 
like  many  of  his  profession,  reckless  of  money,  and  it  is  told  of  him  by  one  who 
knew  him  well,  that  on  one  occasion  having,  after  some  persuasion,  succeeded 
in  borrowing  $5  of  his  friend  John  Harmer  (who  had  come  to  distrust  him  in  money 
matters),  he  met  a  boy  on  the  street  carrying  a  canary  bird  in  its  cage.  He  straight- 
way purchased  the  bird  and  cage,  with  the  just  borrowed  money,  and  shortly  after 
meeting  Mr.  Ralph  Malbone,  presented  them  to  him.  Mr.  Birdsall  says  of  him  that 
Guy  was  inclined  to  be  disputatious,  but  generally  in  good  temper.  When  not  able 
to  agree  with  Mr.  B.  in  discussion,  he  would  say,  "  Well,  you  differ  and  I  differ,  and 
that's  all  the  difference  there  is  between  us."  After  his  death  Mrs.  Guy  disposed  in 
1824,  of  sixty-two  of  his  landscape  paintings,  by  auction,  in  Wall  street,  New  York, 
the  proceeds  amounting  to  $1,295.50,  an  average  of  nearly  $21  apiece.  The  "  Snow 
Scene,"  had,  however,  been  previously  bought  (1823)  at  private  sale  by  Mr.  James 
Parshall  of  New  York,  from  whom  it  was  subsequently  obtained  for  $200  by  contri- 
butions of  friends  of  the  Brooklyn  Institute  where  it  can  now  be  seen  by  those  of 
our  citizens  who  are  curious  in  such  matters. 

At  the  sale  of  Guy's  pictures  we  find  mentioned  on  the  catalogue  "  No.  39,  Winter 
Scene  in  Brooklyn,"  and  "  No.  40,  Summer  View  in  Brooklyn,"  both  of  which  were 
purchased,  the  former  for  $30  and  the  latter  for  $26,  by  Mr.  Henry.  "  No.  39,"  we 
presume  is  the  one  now  hanging  in  Phil.  Grogan's  New  Bank  Oyster  House  in  Fulton 
street,  Brooklyn,  and  was  undoubtedly,  the  first  sketch  of  the  scene,  being  entirely 
without  figures. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  1 1  i;, 

"horse  laugh,"  that  might  be  heard  a  mile  off — always  clad  in  a 
roundabout,  and  carrying  in  his  hand  the  measuring  stick,  with 
which  he  measured  his  stock-in-trade.  He  had  two  children. 
Charles  and  John  M.  Hicks,  who  inherited  the  ample  fortune 
which  their  father's  industry  had  accumulated.  Charles  died 
in  early  manhood ;  John  M.  is  still  living,  one  of  our  most  re- 
spected citizens.  He  married  Maria,  the  daughter  of  old  Selah 
Smith,  the  tavern  keeper ;  held  the  office  of  county  clerk  from 
Nov.,  1843,  to  Nov.,  1849;  and,  represented  the  second  ward  of 
the  city  in  the  first  board  of  aldermen,  1834  to  '35. 

Upon  the  north-east  corner  of  Front  and  Main  streets  was  a 
grocery,  and  upon  the  south-east  corner  a  large  frame  tenement 
house;  but,  although  Front  street  was  opened  for  travel  for  some 
five  hundred  yards  farther  from  this  point,  northward  to  where 
the  saud  hills  again  presented  themselves,  yet  there  were  no 
buildings  of  any  importance  on  its  north  side,  and  only  a  few 
miserable  ones  on  its  south  side. 

Main  street.  Omitting  a  repetition  of  the  buildings  already 
mentioned,  as  on  the  corners  of  Water  and  Front  streets,  we  will 
notice  simply  those  of  importance  on  this  street  from  the  river  to 
Prospect  street. 

On  the  westerly  side  of  the  street,  and  south  of  Hicks'  wood- 
yard,  were  a  few  small  wooden  dwellings,  and  then  David  Ander- 
son's house,  whose  stone  yard  we  have  already  mentioned  as  being 
at  the  foot  of  Dock  street.  There  were  no  other  houses  of  note  on 
this  side  until  you  come  to  those  near  the  junction  of  Fulton  and 
Main,  all  of  which  extended  through  from  street  to  street,  as  they 
now  do. 

Along  the  easterly  side  of  Main  street,  were  but  few  buildings. 
On,  or  near  the  present  corner  of  Main  and  York  streets,  was 
John  Moon's  house,  and  his  next  neighbor,  was  the  house 
and  garden  of  Capt.  John  0.  Zuill,  master  of  the  good  ship 
Gleaner,  in  the  West  India  trade.  He  married  a  daughter  of 
Bishop  Roorback,  of  New  York;  was  a  hearty,  sociable  man,  of 
some  note  in  Brooklyn  society,  and  an  estimable  citizen.  Next 
him,  was  James  Cornell,  butcher,  his  slaughter  house  in  the  rear, 
and  adjoining  his  house  an  ice-house  —  he  being,  it  is  said,  the 
14 


106      ■  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

first  man  in  Brooklyn  who  put  up  ice  for  summer  use.  Then,  we 
notice  the  house  and  paint  shop  of  Capt.  John  Allen,  commander 
of  one  of  the  uniformed  military  companies  of  the  village. 

Then  some  small  tenements,  and,  on  the  north-east  corner  of 
Prospect  street,  a  large  frame  building,  where  James  Burtis  kept 
a  grocery  and  feed  store.  Along  the  north  side  of  Prospect  street, 
next  to  Burtis's —  there  were,  on  either  corner  of  Stewart's  alley, 
a  small  two-story  frame  house.  The  north-east  corner  of  Prospect 
street  and  Stewart's  alley,  is  most  pleasantly  associated,  in  the 
mind  of  early  Brooklynites,  with  a  famous  restaurant  kept  there 
for  many  years,  by  John  Joseph,  otherwise  better  known  as 
Johnny  Joe,  and,  who  as  "  a  character "  of  the  olden  times 
deserves  to  be  sketched.  He  was  a  native  of  Martinique,  West 
Indies,  from  whence  he  was  brought,  about  1795,  by  a  Frenchman, 
who  left  him  in  New  York,  to  serve  for  a  time  as  a  waiter  in 
several  families.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  he 
accompanied  Capt.  Alexander  Hamilton  (son  of  the  great  states- 
man), of  Col.  Bogardus's  regiment,  to  Governor's  island,  which 
was  then  occupied  as  a  recruiting  station.  From  there  he  went 
to  Canada  with  Capt.  Jeremiah  Hayden,  and  was  with  Generals 
Brown  and  Scott,  in  1814,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Chippewa. 
Returning,  he  lived  awhile  with  Com.  Renshaw,  of  Brooklyn, 
then,  in  1817,  with  Col.  Thayer  at  West  Point,  where  he  remained 
until  1821,  and  then  accompanied  Beaufort  T.  Watts,  secretary 
of  legation,  to  South  America.  He  returned  here  in  1825,  with 
a  snug  little  fortune  of  some  $1,600  in  gold,  the  result  of  diligent 
industry  and  careful  economy ;  married  a  West  Indian  mulatto 
woman,  then  living  in  the  family  of  Capt.  John  0.  Zuill  of  Brook- 
lyn, and  taking  a  lease  of  the  building  on  Prospect  street,  opened 
a  restaurant  which  he  continued  for  some  twenty  years.  He  ex- 
pended considerable  money  in  the  repairs  of  these  buildings,  and 
was  not  fortunate  in  his  tenants.  In  the  end,  although  his  imme- 
diate business  had  been  popular  and  successful,  the  expenses  of 
his  real  estate  swallowed  up  his  earnings.  He  surrendered  his 
lease  and  retired  upon  a  small  piece  of  land  in  Queens  county,  near 
Jericho,  at  a  place  called  Bushy  Plains,. where  he  resides  with 
his  wife  in  a  settlement  of  colored  people,  working  very  diligently 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  1Q7 

for  a  living.  Johnny  Joe's  waa  the  favorite  place  for  the  sym- 
posia of  the  Hamiltonians,  and  many  of  our  citizens  will  re- 
member that  he  took  especial  pride  in  keeping  the  best  Heidsick 
and  in  preparing  a  quality  of  fried  oysters,  which  they  all  agree 
were  never  equaled  since  the  world  began,  and  which  are  duly 
celebrated  in  the  favorite  Hamiltonian  song  ending  in 

"  "Where  we  all  ate  the  oyster  fries, 
Down  there  at  Johnny  Joe's." 

Then  Mr.  Stewart's  comfortable  double  house,  and  a  frame  dwell- 
ing adjoining.  Then  were  hills,  about  as  far  as  the  present  Jay 
street,  where  there  was  a  two-story  frame  house,  with  a  dairy 
establishment  attached.  Beyond  this,  Prospect  street,  although 
open,  did  not  contain  more  than  ten  small  tenements.  At  or  near 
the  present  Gold  street  was  a  gate,  from  which  a  pathway,  or 
lane,  led  up  to  King's  hill,  as  it  was  then  called,  to  a  large 
mansion  situated  on  the  highest  part  of  the  hill,  and  occupied  by 
Robert  Morris,  who  had  purchased  a  large  tract  of  the  adjoining 
property  at  the  sale  of  the  C.  &  J.  Sands  property,  in  1806, 
under  the  foreclosure  of  the  mortgage  against  the  Sandses  by  the 
Bank  of  Xew  York. 

At  about  the  termination  of  the  present  York  street,  were  the 
United  States  Marine  Barracks,  which  could  only  be  reached  (for 
York  street  was  not  then  open  or  used  as  a  street),  "  across  lots  " 
from  Sands  street,  or  via  Jackson  street,  at  that  time,  a  mere 
crooked  lane.  These  barracks,  substantially  built  of  brick,  were 
occupied  in  front  as  the  residence  of  the  commandant  of  the 
corps,  and  the  rear  (which  extended  into  the  ]Navy  Yard)  by  the 
inferior  officers  and  privates.  The  southern  entrance  to  the  yard 
was  some  fifty  feet  west  of  the  present  one. 

Sands  street,  from  the  Old  Road  (Fulton  street)  to  the  Wallabout  toll 
bridge. 

Passing  Drs.  Ball  and  Wendell's  office  and  drug  store,  on 
the  northerly  side  of  Sands  street,  after  leaving  the  old  road  we 
pass  vacant  lots  until  we  come  to  old  St.  Ann's  church,  which  then 
fronted  on  Sands  street,  with  its  side  doors  on  Washington  street. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


It  was,  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  the  new  St.  Ann's,  the 
first  permanent  home  which  the  Episcopalians  of  Brooklyn  had 
attained,  after  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century's  buffeting  about 
among  private  houses,  barns,  and  old  barracks.  It  was  erected 
in  1805,  during  the  rectorship  of  the  Rev.  John  Ireland.     Heavy 


NEW  ST.   ANN'S,  AND  THE  RUINS  OF  OLD   ST.  ANN'S.1 

in  form,  constructed  of  rough  stone,  overlaid  with  a  coat  of  plaster 
and  painted  of  a  dark  blue  color,  it  would  probably  be  considered, 
now-a-days,  as  a  miracle  of  ugliness.  Even  then,  the  smallness  of 
its  windows  and  the  tout  ensemble  of  its  exterior  gave  point  to  the 
jocular  remark  of  an  irreverent  wag  of  a  rival  denomination,  that, 
he  "  had  often  heard  of  the  church  militant,  and  its  canons,  but 
he'd  never  before  seen  its  port  holes."  The  ground  upon  which  it 
stood  had  been  given,  for  the  purpose,  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joshua 
Sands,  whose  benefactions  ceased  only  with  their  lives,  and  it  was 
a  deserved  as  well  as  graceful  compliment  to  the  latter,  which 
combined  her  name  with  that  of  an  ancient  saint,  in  the  naming 
of  the  edifice. 


1  This  picture,  representing  the  ruins  of  the  old  church  of  St.  Ann's,  and  the  newly 
completed  edifice,  erected  in  1824,  is  from  an  unfinished  water  color  sketch,  made  by 
Mar}r  Ann  Wetmore,  afterwards  Mrs.  Alden  Spooncr. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  109 

Mrs.  Ann  Sands,  the  wife  of  Joshua  Sands,  was  born  in  New  York, 
January  5,  1761.  Her  father,  Dr.  Richard  Ayscough,  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
British  army,  and  her  mother  was  a  Langdon,  whjle  a  still  more  remote 
ancestor  was  a  Cuyler,  one  of  the  original  Dutch  settlers  from  Holland.  She 
was  married  to  Mr.  Sands,  March  9th,  1780 ;  and  proved  herself,  by  educa- 
tion and  disposition,  as  well  suited  to  the  affairs  of  the  church  and  the  offices 
of  charity,  as  her  husband  was  to  public  matters  and  the  details  of  business. 
Nature,  indeed,  had  fitted  her  well  for  the  functions  of  a  lady  abbess,  if 
her  affections  could  have  been  cloistered  in  any  abbey  smaller  than  the 
world,  or  her  sympathies  narrowed  to  any  number  of  nuns  short  of  the  whole 
female  sex.  In  1813,  she  was  the  principal  founder  and  the  first  directress 
of  the  Loisian  School  {ante,  11,  12)  and  therefore,  indirectly,  was  the  founder 
of  the  first  public  school  ever  established  in  Brooklyn.  She  was,  also,  the 
president  of  the  Brooklyn  Dorcas  Society.  In  short,  she  went  about  paying 
a  large  internal  revenue  tax  upon  the  liberal  estates  of  her  husband,  in  deeds 
of  charity ;  and  was  known  in  the  dark  places  where  other  rays  of  sunlight 
never  strayed,  and  some  knew  of  Providence  only  through  her  ministrations. 
She  survived  her  excellent  husband  for  many  years,  and  died,  of  a  pulmon- 
nary  affection,  on  the  17th  of  July,  1851,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety 
years.  She  had  twelve  children,  six  of  whom  preceded  her  to  the  grave,  and 
six  survived  her. 

Akin  to  Mrs.  Sands  in  spirit,  and  a  foundation  to  the  pillars  of  this 
church,  was  Mrs.  Sarah  Middagh,  the  wife  of  John  Middagh,and  who  died 
in  1837  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  Like  St.  Ann,  she  bent  toward  the 
lowly,  and  considered  no  duty  more  sacred  than  the  religious  instruction  of 
her  domestics.  It  is  said  that  she  took  to  the  baptismal  font  more  than 
twenty  persons  of  color,  at  different  times  in  her  service,  eighteen  of 
whom  were  servants  born  in  her  own  house. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  goodly  company  which  assembled  within  the 
cracked1  but  hallowed  walls  of  old  St.  Ann's  in  those  days.  There 
was  Joshua  Sands,  tall  and  commanding,  and  with  the  air  of  one 
whom  no  amount  of  business  could  perplex ;  Major  Fanning  C. 
Tucker,  still  taller  in  figure,  and  adding  to  the  strict  performance 
of  every  church  duty  the  graces  of  the  highest  breeding;  gentle- 
manly John  Moore  ;  the  dignified  and  courteous  Gen.  J.  G.  Swift ; 
the  Pierreponts ;  the  Treadwells  ;  the  Clarkes ;  Sacketts ;  Ellisons ; 

'In  1808,  three  years  after  its  erection,  the  walls  of  St.  Ann's  were  badly  damaged 
by  the  explosion  of  a  powder  mill  (see  vol.  I,  390). 


HO       '  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

g 

Coleses;  Petits;  Smiths;  Van  Burens;  Van  Nostrands;  Sulli- 
vans ;  Hudsons ;  Worthingtons ;  Stewarts ;  Gibbses  ;  Cornells  ; 
Middaghs;  Hickses  ;  Warings;  Marches;  Carters;  Spoon ers,  etc., 
etc.,  indeed  the  catalogue  wpuld  embrace  a  history  of  Brooklyn  ! 
This  old  church  also  had  its  peculiarities,  (as  what  church  has 
not  ?)  not  unworthy  of  a  passing  notice.  Among  these  was  Losee 
Van  Nostrand,  the  ferryman,  whose  ringing  cry  of  "  Over ! " 
answered  all  the  purposes  of  a  bell  at  the  ferry,  for  many  years, 
and  who  filled  sundry  church  offices,  such  as  passing  the  collection 
plate,  etc.  It  is  related  of  him,  that,  at  a  communion  service  hav- 
ing to  wait  a  little,  he  attracted  the  amused  attention  of  the  whole 
congregation  by  the  absorbed  air,  with  which,  in  a  fit  of  abstrac- 
tion, he  was  balancing  the  plate  upon  the  chancel  railing,  forget- 
ful of  all  else  except  its  nice  adjustment.  Again,  being  off  his 
guard  and  napping  in  his  pew,  one  Sunday,  at  the  proper 
moment  for  response  to  the  prayer,  he  woke  up  suddenly,  and 
blurted  out  his  accustomed  "  Over ! "  instead  of  the  solemn 
"  Amen  ! "  to  the  irrepressible  merriment  of  the  most  devout. 
Speaking  of  inappropriate  responses,  reminds  one  of  Bern  C.  Cor- 
nell, whose  curt  and  sharp  response  of  "eight  men!"  (Amen!) 
rarely  failed  to  capsize  the  slender  self-possession  of  the  watchful 
urchins.  An  object  of  never  ending  wonder  to  these  self  same 
urchins,  many  of  whom,  to  manhood  grown,  are  yet  in  our  midst, 
was  the  great  chandelier,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Ann  Sands,  which  hung 
from  the  centre  of  the  ceiling  of  Old  St.  Ann's.  To  their 
youthful  imaginations,  it  seemed,  when  lighted,  the  realization  of 
the  diamond  tree  of  Aladdin's  cave,  and  the  ever  changing  bril- 
liancy of  its  prismatic  rays  was  a  marvel  of  delight.  To  say  the 
truth,  the  boys  were  not  alone  in  their  admiration;  the  whole  con- 
gregation were  proud  of  it.  It  chanced,  one  week  day,  that  a 
notorious  wag  of  the  village  (who,  while  his  parents  were  praying 
decently  and  devoutly,  was  himself  always  engaged  in  some  special 
worship  of  the  Old  Boy),  perpetrated  a  huge  sell  on  the  vil- 
lage to  the  effect  that  the  great  chandelier  of  St.  Ann's  had  fallen 
from  its  place  and  was  dashed  to  atoms.  Great  was  the  dismay 
among  the  gossips,  great  the  running  to  and  fro ;  how  bereft  the 
church!  how  irretreivable  the  loss!     As  soon  as  the  sexton,  old 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  HI 

John,  could  be  hunted  up  and  the  doors  unlocked,  how  eager  the 
rush  to  behold  the  ruin;  when,  lo  !  "much  ado,  about  nothing." 
There,  unharmed  and  unmoved,  like  a  queenly  bride,  robed  in 
lace  work  of  twinkling  pendants,  and  with  a  hundred  Kohinoors 
for  her  diadem,  was  the  chandelier !  Verily  !  a  miracle,  worthy  of 
the  two  St.  Anns ! 

The  music  of  St.  Ann's,  in  those  days,  was  worthy  of  notice. 
The  fine  voice  of  Miss  Julia  Duncan  (afterwards  Mrs.  TVorthing- 
ton) :  the  Misses  Miller  and  Stanton,  Major  Tuckers  deep  bass, 
and  the  skillful  hands  of  S.  P.  Taylor  at  the  organ1  combined  to 
render  the  music  of  this  sanctuary  captivating  and  soul-enthrall- 
ing. From  this  choir,  also,  sprang  the  St.  Cecilia  and  Euterpian 
societies,  whose  concerts  formed  a  prominent  feature  in  the  early 
social  life  of  the  village,  and  which  did  so  much  to  cherish  and 
develop  that  love  of  music  for  which  Brooklyn  has  ever  been 
noted. 

On  the  opposite,  or  north-east  corner  of  Sands  and  "Washington 
streets,  was  the  residence  of  Fanning  C.  Tucker,  which  is  still 
standing  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  After  Mr.  Tucker,  it 
became  the  house  of  Mr.  Robert  Carter.  This  gentleman  was  the 
son  of  a  chairmaker  in  Broad  street,  New  York,  and  engaged  in 
the  ship  chandlery  business,  firm  of  Tucker  &  Carter,  corner  of 
Pine  and  Front  streets ;  a  firm  still  retaining  its  identity,  under 
several  changes,  as  Tucker  &  Cooper,  and  Tucker  &  Carter;  later 
still,  it  was  the  home,  for  many  years,  of  the  late  Gen.  Eobert 
Nichols,  and  at  present  it  is  occupied  by  the  widow  and  family  of 
the  late  Hon.  Moses  F.  Odell. 

Next  beyond,  on  the  same  side  of  the  street,  was  a  very  neat 
and  handsome  two-story  frame  house  occupied  by  old  Mr.  John 
Moore,  and  his  two  maiden  sisters,  and  attached  to  the  house  was 
a  very  fine  garden.  "  Jack  Moore,  as  he  was  more  generally 
called,"  says  Furman,  u  was  a  bachelor  and  a  bon  vivant,  but  never 
guilty  of  any  of  the  excesses  of  which  that  class  are  too  often  justly 
chargeable."  He  seemed  to  understand  the  art  of  good  living  to 
considerable  perfection,  took  no  part  in  politics  and  manifested 

1  The  organ  was  first  introduced  into  St.  Ann's  church,  March  29,  1810. 


112  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

no  interest  in  public  affairs;  but  he  and  bis  sisters  were  very 
regular  attendants  at  St.  Ann's  church. 

On  same  side  of  Sands,  below  Pearl  street  was  a  large,  two-story 
brick  house,  still  standing,  in  which,  after  about  1818,  resided 
Purser  Wise. 

George  S.  Wise,  Jun.,  purser  in  the  United  States  Navy  Yard  here,  was  of 
Irish  descent  and  a  native  of  Virginia.  He  came  to  Brooklyn  in  1812,  and 
quickly  identified  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  place  and  its  inhabitants. 
Eminently  social  in  disposition,  and  agreeable  in  manners,  his  influence  was 
extensively  felt  in  the  best  social  circles,  while  his  warm,  impulsive  nature 
was  ever  seeking  opportunity  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  needy.  During  one 
season  of  scarcity  of  labor  and  of  food  for  the  poor,  he  established  in  connec- 
tion with  some  of  his  brother  officers  of  the  navy  and  the  charitable  ladies 
of  the  village,  an  ordinary  where  many  little  children  were  daily  fed,  in- 
structed and  clothed  ;  and  from  this  originated  the  Loisian  School,  of  which 
he  was  secretary.  He  was  also  one  of  the  almoners  of  the  Brooklyn  Dorcas 
Society,  and  a  principal  founder  of  the  Erin  Fraternal  Association,  of  which 
he  was  president  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  As  president  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Society,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  erection  here  of  their 
first  church  edifice.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  order;  of  the 
Kings  County  Agricultural  Society,  and  was  a  trustee  of  the  village  in  1822 
and  1823.  November  20th,  1824,  he  died  and  was  buried  with  appropriate 
military  and  masonic  honors,  leaving  behind  him  the  memory  of  a  life  dis- 
tinguished for  warm  benevolence  and  an  activity  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
his  fellow-men. 


Between  Purser  Wise's  and  the  present  line  of  Jay  street,  was 
the  residence  of  Josey  Herbert. 

Joseph  and  James,  sons  of  Richard  Herbert,  shoemaker,  came  with 
their  father  and  family  to  Brooklyn,  from  Middletown  Point,  N.  J.,  shortly 
after  the  revolution.  Mr.  Herbert  built  a  residence  in  Main  near  York  street; 
and,  dying  soon  after,  his  son  James  took  up  the  business,  and  brought  up 
his  brothers,  Joseph,  Daniel,  and  Samuel,  to  the  shoemaker's  trade. 

Joseph,  about  1806,  set  up  in  business,  married  Miss  Fanny  Hand,  a 
sister  of  Capt.  Clarke's  wife,  and  built  the  house  (62  Sands,  afterwards  69), 
which  he  subsequently  occupied  as  residence  and  shoe-shop,  until  his  death. 
His  quiet  disposition  did  not  lead  him  much  into  public  life ;  yet  no  name 
is  more  uniformly  to  be  found  as  identified  with  every  important  social, 


HISTOBT  OF  BROOKLYN.  113 

religions  and  educational  movement  in  the  curly  history  of  the  village,  than 

that  of  Joseph  Herbert.  In  the  Apprentices'  Library;  the  Sabbath  School 
and  the  Methodist  Church  of  which  he  was  an  early  and  life-long  member  and 
a  trustee,  he  was  always  a  working  man.  He  was,  also  at  one  time,  the  cap- 
tain of  the  uniformed  company  known  as  the  Katydids.1  In  person  he  was 
of  medium  size;  stout,  verging  on  corpulency;  with  a  fresh,  clear  complex- 
ion, and  white  hair.  His  portrait  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  the  Sands  street 
Methodist  Sabbath  School,  of  which  he  was  so  long  the  revered  superintendent. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  small  tenements,  Wise's  and  Her- 
bert's were  about  the  last  buildings  upon  the  north  side  of  Sands 
street.  From  the  end  of  Sands  street,  extended  the  Wallabout 
bridge  (vol.  i,  387),  to  about  the  junction  of  present  Flushing  and 
Portland  avenues,  where  the  toll-gate  controlled  the  travel  of  the 
Newton  Pike  road,  by  Sands  street,  and  also  by  the  road  running 
past  Fort  Green,  across  to  the  Flatbush  turnpike.  Near  the  Walla- 
bout bridge,  was  Sands'  ropewalk,  extending  from  the  south  side  of 
Sands  street,  all  along  the  Wallabout  meadows,  to  about  the  foot  of 
the  present  Tillary  street,  in  some  places  being  built  upon  piles. 
Around  this  walk  were  several  tenements  occupied  by  the  em- 
ployees in  the  walk. 

Returning,  along  the  south  side  of  Sands  street,  until  we  come  to 
what  is  now  Bridge  street,  was  nothing  but  sand  hills,  among 
which  nestled  a  few  negro  shanties.  On  the  corner  of  Bridge 
street  was  a  substantial  frame  dwelling  with  a  latge  garden 
attached  ;  the  next  most  noteworthy  house  being  that  of  Fanning 
C.  Tucker,  which  he  occupied  after  he  sold  his  other  house  to  Mr. 
Carter.     It  had  a  fine  large  garden,  and  is  still  standing. 

Passing  by  the  present  Pearl  street,  we  come  to  Thomas  C.  Spink's 
cottage  (still  standing,  though  modernized),  and  which,  like  all 
the  residences  on  Sands  street,  was  furnished  with  a  large  flower 
and  vegetable  garden.  A  large  two-story  dwelling  stood  on  the 
south-east  corner  of  Sands  and  Washington  streets,  fronting  on 
the  latter,  and  with  stables  in  rear ;  and,  on  the  opposite  corner,  was 
Br.  Chas.  Ball's  house,  with  a  fine  garden  attached.  This  building 
was  afterwards  removed  to  Washington  street,  and  is  yet  standing. 


1  See  note  to  page  396,  of  first  volume. 
15 


1X4  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Then  the  Methodist  church,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Old 
White  Church,"  occupying  the  site  of  the  present  Sands  street 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Next  door  to  the  church  was  the  residence  of  one  of  the  "  fathers" 
of  the  village,  "  Poppy  "  Snow,  whose  biography  we  have  already 
given  (on  page  20).  Then  passing  Harmer's  residence  (ante,  87),  we 
find  ourselves  at  "Dean's  corner/'  on  the  corner  of  Old  Ferry  road. 

After  the  date  of  our  sketch  (about  1816),  Sands  street  began 
to  fill  up  rapidly,  and  was  for  many  years  quite  a  fashionable 
avenue  of  residences.  Among  these  later  comers  we  may  men- 
tion, on  the  north  side,  Mr.  Cunningham,  the  distiller,  who  built 
next  to  John  Moore,  between  "Washington  and  Adams ;  Josiah 
Boweu,  a  printer  (of  the  firm  of  Pray  &  Bowen),  and  subsequently 
a  Methodist  preacher,  next  west  of  Purser  Wise's  house;  below 
Jay  street,  Mr.  Jehiel  Jagger,  a  hatter,  doing  business  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  Mr.  Jagger  took  the  house,  about  1820,  from  its 
previous  owner,  a  Capt.  Clarke.  On  the  southern  side  James  B. 
Clarke,  Esq.,  and  Thomas  Kirk,  between  Washington  and  Adams; 
between  Adams  and  Pearl,  Aime  J.  Barbarin,  father  of  Mr.  George 
Barbarin,  Capt.  Angus  of  the  navy ;  John  C.  Bennett,  tailor,  James 
Herbert,  grocer,  etc. 

High  street,  although  opened  nearly  to  the  present  Bridge  street, 
had  but  few  buildings.  Upon  its  north  side,  near  Fulton, 
was  Isaac  Moser's  grocery  store,  a  brother  of  "Uncle  Jo"  Moser. 
Then,  vacant  lots  up  to  an  alley,  on  the  easterly  corner  of  which 
lived  Richard  Y.  W.  Thorne.  Next  him  was  the  Methodist  par- 
sonage house,  and,  then,  a  building  used  by  that  congregation  for 
"  class  meetings,"  and,  adjoining,  the  rear  entrance  to  their  burial 
ground  and  church.  Beyond  this  point,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
street,  were  but  few  houses,  the  land  being  mostly  occupied  by  the 
grounds  and  gardens  of  the  residences  on  the  south  side  of  Sands 
street.  Along  the  south  side  of  High  street,  between  Fulton  and 
Washington  streets,  were  only  three  or  four  houses,  and,  beyond 
the  latter  street,  not  over  six  or  seven.  About  on  the  line  of 
the  present  Bridge  street,  in  front  of  the  African  Methodist  church, 
was  a  splendid  grove  of  poplars.  From  1813  to  1818,  there  was 
a  great  mania  in  Brooklyn  for  this  kind  of  tree,  and  scarcely  a 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  \]  7> 

place  of  any  pretension,  that  did  not  have  its  poplar.     On  this 
spot  a  nursery  of  these  trees  was  established  by  an  enterprising 

citizen,  to  his  ultimate  loss. 

Nassau  street.  Beyond  Justice  Nichols'  place,  on  the  north  corner 
of  Fulton  street,  were  but  one  or  two  houses  before  reaching 
Washington  street,  on  the  north-west  corner  of  which  was  Mr. 
John  Green's  house,  still  standing,  and  a  large  garden,  and  next 
him  Evan  Beynon's  school  house.  Beynon  was  a  freethinker,  a 
great  admirer  of  Thomas  Paine,  but  an  excellent  scholar  and 
good  teacher,  although  he  possessed  a  hot  temper,  and  not  much 
suavity  of  manner.  He  was  the  pedagogical  predecessor  of  Mr. 
Samuel  W.  Seabury.  Beyond  this  were  but  few  houses  of  any 
note. 

On  the  south  side  of  Nassau  street,  adjoining  Capt.  Sullivan's 
on  the  corner  of  Fulton  street,  was  Mr.  Samuel  Yail's  neat  two- 
story  frame  house,  and  between  that  and  Washington  street  two 
or  three  houses.  On  the  south-east  corner  of  Washington  street, 
was  the  large  frame  house  built  by  an  Englishman,  and  now  occu- 
pied by  J.  Fletcher  Garrison,  Esq.,  son  of  old  Judge  John  Gar- 
rison. Adjoining  his  garden,  was  the  residence  of  Mr.  William 
Wallace,  a  cloth  merchant  in  New  York.  Beyond,  on  the  south 
side  of  Nassau,  were  only  some  ten  or  fifteen  houses  occupied, 
mostly,  by  mechanics  and  laboring  men.  The  only  noticeable 
building  was  the  old  "  Alms  House,"  a  large  frame  edifice,  about 
one  hundred  feet  from  the  present  Jay  street,  and  surrounded 
by  about  two  acres  of  ground.  A  lower  room  in  this  building, 
also  served  the  purposes  of  a  "  lock-up"  or  police  station,  wherein 
the  village  constables  confined  those  committed  to  their  charge 
for  safe  keeping.  The  old  Alms  House  building  was  subsequently 
purchased  in  1825,  by  Mr.  Josiah  Dow,  who  converted  it  into  a 
dwelling-house  for  his  own  use ;  and,  in  order  to  rid  it  of  the 
odium  attaching  to  the  name  of  a  "poor  house,"  erected  upon  it 
a  large  sign  of  "  Wakefield  House."  The  sign,  however 
(while  it  gradually  effaced  from  the  public  mind,  the  stigma  of  the 
old  name),  provoked  numberless  calls  from  strangers,  who  very  natu- 
rally mistook  the  place  for  a  hotel,  so  that,  as  soon  as  practicable, 
Mr.  Dow  was  glad  to  remove  the  sign.    This  house  is  still  standing. 


11(5  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Josiah  Dow,  born  at  Wakefield,  N.  H.,  December  27th,  1782,  was  the 
son  of  Richard  and  Mary  Dew,  who  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  that 
town,  and  descended  from  Henry  Dow,  who  came  from  England  about  1646, 
and  was  a  prominent  man  at  Salisbury,  N.  H.  They  possessed  a  good  educa- 
tion for  their  circumstances  ;  religious  principles  and  frugal  habits.  Josiah, 
in  early  life,  was  placed  in  a  country  store  at  Hampton  Falls,  Mass.,  where 
his  fidelity  and  enterprise  won  the  esteem  of  his  employer,  upon  whose  death, 
and  before  arriving  at  age,  he  found  a  position  at  Boston.  Subsequently, 
he  opened  a  retail  dry-goods  store  at  Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  married  Maria 
Phippen,  and,  in  1810,  removed  to  Boston.  He  there  embarked  upon  a 
larger  dry  goods  business,  and  his  place,  called  "  The  Long  Boom  "  became 
a  famous  resort  for  the  Boston  ladies  whenever  he  opened  his  bales  of  new 
goods  ;  the  expression  "  one  bale  more,"  as  originating  in  his  store,  becoming 
a  bye  word  and  a  subject  for  "hits"  upon  the  stage.  He  sent  to  India  the 
first  parcel  of  cotton  fabrics  exported  thither  from  this  country.  During 
the  war  of  1812,  he  served  as  an  officer  in  Salem  and  Boston.  About  this 
time,  also,  when  but  little  more  than  thirty  years  old,  deeming  himself  inde- 
pendently rich,  he  established  an  academy  in  his  native  town  (Wakefield) 
at  a  heavy  expense.  It  was  known  as  "  Dow's  Academy  "  and  was,  for  many 
years,  one  of  the  most  flourishing  institutions  of  learning  in  that  part  of  New 
England.  Upon  the  occasion  of  its  dedication,  Mr.  Dow  delivered  an  address, 
which  was  full  of  sound  and  progressive  views.  After  the  proclamation  of 
peace,  goods  became  so  depreciated  in  value  as  to  ruin  Mr.  Dow,  in  common 
with  many  others  who  had  purchased  largely  at  war  prices.  He  returned  to 
his  farm  at  Wakefield  and,  a  few  years  after,  went  to  Boston  where  he  be- 
came a  broker  and  commission  merchant.  Being  frequently  at  New  York, 
in  the  way  of  business,  he  finally  established  himself  in  business  in  that  city 
(at  63  Wall  street),  in  1824.  In  1825  he  purchased  the  "  Alms  House 
property  "  in  Brooklyn,  of  which  place  he  became  a  resident  in  October  of 
that  year ;  and  he  also  took  a  pew  in  St.  Ann's  church.  His  old  Boston 
friends  consigned  goods  to  him  ;  and,  in  1826,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  John  Currier,  under  the  firm  name  of  Josiah  Dow  &  Co.  Upon  the 
expiration  of  this  he  formed  a  new  connection  with  his  twin  sons*Bichard 
and  Josiah,  under  the  same  style.  The  last  named  subsequently  removed  to 
Illinois,  where  he  died  in  1833,  and  some  of  the  younger  sons  were  added  to 
the  firm,  whose  principal  store  was  at  157  Pearl  street,  New  York.  His 
business  was  now  prosperous  and  extensive,  and  his  genial  nature  expanded 
in  hospitable  and  liberal  enterprises.  To  Brooklyn  he  was  as  much  attached 
as  if  he  had  always  lived  here.     For  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  Brooklyn 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  \yf 

Insurance  Company,  the  Brooklyn  Savings  Bank,  the  Apprentices'  Library, 
the  Brooklyn  Collegiate  Institute  for  Young  Ladies  and  the  Brooklyn 
Lyceum.  To  this  latter  institution  he  once  advanced  about  $25,000  when 
money  was  three  per  cent  a  month,  in  the  market.  Though  liberal  to  all 
sects  and  creeds,  he  was  in  religious  belief  a  Unitarian,  and  one  of  the  most 
prominent  originators  of  the  First  Unitarian  church  of  this  city.  In  politics 
he  was  a  whig,  and  entertained  Harrison,  Webster,  Davy  Crockett  and  other 
prominent  statesmen,  upon  the  occasions  of  their  visits  to  Brooklyn.  He 
was  temperate  in  habit,  averse  to  the  use  of  profane  language,  remarkably 
agile,  and  fond  of  dancing  and  other  social  amusements.  It  is  related  of  him 
that,  once,  on  board  of  one  of  the  old  New  York  and  Providence  steamboats, 
<*f  which  line  he  was  a  director,  he  reproved  a  smoker  in  the  ladies'  cabin, 
by  pointing  him  to  the  printed  prohibition,  "  Gentlemen  are  requested  not 
to  smoke,  etc."  The  offender,  however,  declined  to  desist.  "  Ah  !"  said 
Mr.  Dow,  "  I  see.  The  card  applies  to  gentlemen  !  "  Mr.  Dow  was  preparing 
to  extend  his  business  connections  to  London  and  St.  Petersburg,  when  the 
commercial  revolution  of  1837  overtook  the  country,  and  he  failed.  Making 
a  full  assignment  of  his  property,  "  wearing  clothes  alone  excepted,"  he  re- 
ceived a  full  discharge  from  his  creditors,  and  attempted  to  rebuild  his 
fortunes.  Further  losses,  however,  ensued;  his  health  began  to  fail,  and  he 
suffered  from  a  weakness  of  the  lungs,  and  the  loss  of  his  son  Richard,  in 
1840, !  by  the  burning  of  the  "  Lexington  "  was  a  blow  severely  felt  by  him. 
He  shortly  after  retired,  with  his  admirable  wife,  to  his  farm,  relying 
to  some  extent  upon  the  aid  of  his  children.  There,  for  ten  years,  he  devoted 
himself  with  his  accustomed  energy,  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  the  instruc- 
tion of  several  orphan  boys  taken  from  the  asylums  in  Brooklyn,  of  which 
Mrs.  Dow  had  been  a  manager.  The  surplus  products  of  his  farm  were 
disposed  of  in  the  Boston  market,  where  he  was  well  known  as  "  the  commo- 
dore." But  his  asthmatic  difficulty  increased  upon  him  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  was  obliged  to  avoid  the  city  entirely.  Against  his  disease  he  bore 
up  cheerfully,  but  the  sudden  death  of  his  daughter,  the  wife  of  Abiel  A. 
Low,  Esq.,  was  a  severe  affliction  to  him,  four  children,  only  remaining  to 
him  of  the  fourteen  (ten  sons  and  four  daughters)  which  God  had  given  him. 
Mr.  Dow  was  methodical  in  his  business,  kept  his  books  carefully  posted  up  ; 
corresponded  extensively,  and  preserved  a  constant  record  of  farm  matters 
and  atmospheric  changes.-     He  died  suddenly,  on  the  evening  of  November 

1Fot  memoir  of  Richard  Dow,  sec  Hunt's  Mi  reh  ant's  Magazine,  for  June,  1840. 
2  The  above  facts  have  been  gleaned  from  a  full  and  well  written  manuscript 
memoir  ''written  by  a  merchant  in  Ids  leisure  evenings  at  home." 


118  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

2d,  1850,  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Dow  was 
about  five  feet  seven  inches  high,  rather  corpulent,  broad  shoulders,  light 
and  rosy  complexion,  forehead  large,  sandy  hair  and  small,  dark  and  penetrat- 
ing eyes. 

Concord  street.  On  its  northern  side,  at  its  junction  with  Fulton, 
was  Dr.  Joseph  J.  G.  T.  Hunt's  office  and  drug  shop,  with  stable 
adjoining.  Then  we  come  to  an  alley,  the  present  Liberty  street. 
Beyond,  on  north-west  corner  of  present  Washington  street,  was 
Dr.  Osborne's  residence  and  garden.  On  the  north-east  corner 
of  the  present  Washington  street,  was  the  large  frame  house  gf 
Adam  Treadwell  a  New  York  merchant.  This  house,  handsomely 
modernized  and  surrounded  by  ample  grounds,  is  now  occupied 
(as  No.  171  Washington  street),  by  Mr.  William Burdon.  Between 
the  house  and  the  present  Pearl  street  was  a  considerable  hill  upon 
which  were  no  improvements.  From  thence  to  the  line  of  the 
present  Gold  street  were  only  a  few  small  houses  chiefly  occupied 
by  laboring  men  and  mechanics,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
opposite  or  southern  side  of  the  street,  on  which  the  school  house 
of  District  No.  1  (where  Public  School  No.  1  now  stands),  was 
the  only  noticeable  feature.  Concord  street,  "  sixty  years  ago" 
was  the  last  public  street,  within  the  village  limits,  which  was 
opened  eastward  from  Fulton  street. 


Walk  the  third,  through  that  portion  of  the  village  lying  south  and 
west  of  the  old  highway  (Fulton  street),  now  known  as  "  The  Heights  ;" 
and  the  streets  which  had,  at  that  time  been  opened  in  that  direction,  viz : 
the  Shore  road  (now  Furman  street),  Joralemon's  Lane,  Everit, 
Elizabeth,  Hicks,  Aert  (now  Henry  street),  Middagh,  Doughty  and 
McKenney  streets,  etc. 

Elizabeth  street,  so  named,  it  is  said,  after  the  wife  of  one  of  its  old 
residents,  still  exists  between  Fulton  street  (just  above  Carll's 
stables)  and  Doughty  street.  In  the  olden  time  it  was  the  only 
means  of  access  to  the  ferry  from  the  road  along  the  beach,  now 
Furman  street. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  119 

Doughty  street,  into  which  Elizabeth  street  opened,  extended 
from  Hicks  street  to  the  East  river,  at  which  was  a  public  landing 
used  by  the  batchers  of  Brooklyn  from  time  immemorial.  On 
the  southerly  side  of  Doughty  street  were  four  or  five  dwellings  : 
one  of  which,  a  brick  and  stone  house,  directly  opposite  to  the 
head  of  Elizabeth  street,  was  originally  the  residence  of  Israel 
Horsfield  :  and,  during  the  revolutionary  war  was  occupied  by  the 
Hessians  as  their  main  guard  room. 

At  the  period  of  which  we  write,  it  was  owned  and  occupied  by 
George  Hicks,  commonly  distinguished  as  "  Ferry-master  Hicks. *? 
He  was  originally  a  Fulton  market  butcher,  but  afterwards 
ferry-master  at  the  Old  Ferry,  after  the  introduction  thereon  of 
steamboats.  He  tended  the  ferry  until  about  1817;  and,  then 
had  the  fortune  to  find  favor  in  the  sight  of  old  Sam.  Jackson 
(they  both  being  quasi  Quakers),  from  whom  he  purchased,  on 
very  reasonable  terms,  property  upon  Love  Lane,  Hicks  and  Wil- 
low streets,  upon  which  he  built  a  large  frame  house,  still  standing, 
and  had  a  fine  garden,  etc.  George  Hicks'  children  were  :  John  ; 
Betsy  (who  married  Capt.  Cooper);  William,  who  died  young; 
George  (married  Miss  Caroline  Bill);  and  Jackson  who  was  named 
after  his  father's  friend  Samuel  Jackson,  and  died  in  early  life. 

A  large  frame  building  somewhat  westerly  of  the  last  named 
was  probably  also  a  Horsfield  house ;  and,  at  a  later  period,  was 
occupied  by  John  Carpenter. 

Israel  and  Timothy  Horsfield  were  men  of  mark  in  their  day  and 
deserve  some  notice  at  our  hands.  They  were  the  sons  of  Timothy  Horsfield 
of  Liverpool,  England,  where  they  were  born,  according  to  the  record  in  an 
old  family  Bible.  Israel,  on  the  -4th  of  January,  1696,  and  Timothy,  on  the 
19th  of  April,  1706,  old  style.  Israel  came  to  this  country  in  1720,  and 
became  a  freeman  of  New  York,  on  the  13th  of  December,  of  the  same  year. 
About  three  years  after,  his  brother  Timothy  arrived  and  entered  into 
business  with  him,  as  butchers.  Their  trade,  which  was  principally  with 
the  shipping,  increased,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  were  obliged  to  seek  other  accommodations,  than  could  be  obtained  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  for  the  prosecution  of  their  business.  Long  Island,  which 
at  that  time  furnished  the  New  York  market  with  most  of  its  live  stock, 
presented  advantages ;  which,  together  with  the  offer  by  the  corporation,  in 


120      '  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1734,  of  a  favorable  lease  of  a  portion  of  the  Brooklyn  shore,  near  the  ferry, 
induced  them  to  remove  there.  They  immediately  built  a  wharf  at  the  foot 
of  the  present  Doughty  street,  together  with  a  slaughtering  place  and 
the  necessary  buildings  for  residence.1  The  next  year  they  leased  the 
two  best  stands  (Nos.  1  and  2)  in  the  Old  Slip  Market,  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  present  Hanover  Square,  in  the  city  of  New  York  j  their  dressed  meats 
being  brought  over  daily,  in  rowboats  by  their  own  slaves,  directly  to  the 
"  Old  Slip,"  whence  it  was  carried,  in  wheelbarrows,  to  their  stands  in  the 
market.  Israel  Horsfield,  in  1738,  had  a  family  of  ten  persons,  three  of 
whom  were  colored  men,  and  slaves.  He  and  his  brother  afterwards  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  some  of  their  "  chattels,"  who  were  put  to  death  for 
complicity  in  the  "  Great  Negro  Plot "  of  1741.  The  Horsfields  accumulated 
a  large  property  and  owned  a  considerable  amount  of  land  on  the  Heights, 
near  the  ferry.2 

Timothy  removed,  in  1750,  to  Pennsylvania  and  became  a  Moravian.  Of 
him,  more  anon. 

Israel,  after  his  brother's  departure,  continued  the  business  until  his  son 
Israel,  Junior,  became  of  age,  when  he  transferred  it  to  the  young  man, 
erected  a  brew-house  near  the  ferry  (Map  a,  and  b,  18)  and  engaged  in  the 
brewing  of  ale  and  beer.  In  1765,  Israel,  Sr.,  returned  but  one  slave, 
named  Tight;  and,  in  1767,  he  advertised,  in  addition  to  two  negro  men 
(ante,  I,  218),  "  several  lots  of  ground,  bounding  on  the  river,  convenient 
for  store  houses  or  slaughter  houses,  also,  several  dwelling  houses,  with  their 
lots  adjoining,  and  two  slaughter  houses ;  likewise  several  up  lots  of  very 
excellent  ground,  fit  for  pasture  or  garden,  with  a  small,  pleasant  summer 
house,  commanding  a  most  agreeable  and  extensive  prospect."  3  He  died  in 
1772  and  his  property  was  advertised  to  be  sold  by  his  son  Thomas  "near 
the  premises."    He  left  three  sons,  Israel,  Jr.,  Thomas,  and  William. 

Israel,  Jr.,  as  we  have  seen,  succeeded  his  father  in  the  business  of  a  butcher, 
but  not  with  the  same  enterprise  or  success.  In  1755,  he  had  one  slave, 
Chalsey  ;  and,  in  1757,  supplied  Jacob  Brewerton,  of  the  ferry,  with  meat  to 

1  In  doing  this  they  (probabl/  unwittingly)  overstepped  their  bounds  and  got  upon 
the  property  of  the  corporation  of  New  York,  but,  on  the  26th  of  February,  1735, 
fortunately  secured  from  that  body,  the  lease  "  of  that  part  of  the  wharfe  and 
slaughterhouse  he  has  lately  built  and  put  upon  the  land  of  the  corporation,  near 
the  Ferry  at  Brooklyn,  at  the  annual  rent  of  five  shillings  " —  and  subsequently  pur- 
chased it  and  it  came  into  the  hands  of  Israel,  Jr.,  who  offered  it  for  sale  in  February, 
1769. 

2  See  vol.  i,  74,  217,  218,  219. 

3  See  Horsfield  Map,  referred  to  on  page  74  of  our  first  volume. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  121 

the  amount  of  £3  18s.  6<L,  for  the  use  of  the  French  neutrals  who  wcr 
lodged  at  Brewerton's,  in  Brookland.  His  property,  consisting  of  a  house, 
lot  of  ground,  slaughter-house  and  barn  "at  the  ferry,"  was  advertised  for 
sale  in  1769;  and  two  years  later,  there  appeared  for  sale  '-five  lots  or 
parcels  of  ground,  at  Brooklyn  ferry,  adjoining  the  house  of  Israel  Horsfield, 
Jr.,  situated  on  a  rising  ground  which  commands  a  prospect  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  very  commodious  for  gentlemen  to  build  small  seats  on,  or 
for  gardeners  or  butchers."  In  1772,  his  ;'  large  new  brick  house,"  "  very 
convenient  for  a  butcher,"  in  which  he  then  lived,  was  advertised  "to  l<  t  ;*' 
and  he  was  shortly  afterwards  engaged  in  the  brewing  business  with  his 
brother  Thomas.  Perhaps  he  discontinued  business  before  or  during  the 
Revolution,  but  appears  on  a  list  of  Brooklyn  inhabitants  in  1783,  became  a 
communicant  of  St.  Ann's  church,  in  1790,  and  died  in  October,  1805,  aged 
sixty-one  years*  His  brother  Thomas  formed  a  partnership,  in  1764,  with 
James  Leadbetter,  advertising  barley  and  oak  bark  for  sale,  and  in  1765 
they  opened  a  brewery  in  Brooklyn,  (ante  I,  217).  The  partnership,  how- 
ever, soon  after  dissolved,  and  we  find  Thomas  advertising  his  "  excellent 
ship  and  table  beer,  from  the  Long  Island  Brewery"  which  was  kept  on  sale 
at  his  brother  William's  store,  opposite  to  Lot  k  Sons,  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  In  1770  (ante  I,  219),  his  malt-kilns  were  burned;  and  in  1778, 
Captain  Thomas  Horsfield,  as  he  was  then  styled,  had  some  three  thousand 
weight  of  excellent  fresh  ship  bread,  for  sale  at  Brooklyn  Ferry. 

Timothy  Horsfield  (ante,  119),  at  the  time  of  his  coming  to  America, 
was  in  his  seventeenth  year,  and  learned  his  business  of  his  brother  Israel. 
In  1731,  he  married  Mary  Doughty ;  in  1739,  was  awakened  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  celebrated  Whitfield,  then  visiting  in  America;  and,  in  1741, 
became  acquainted  with  the  Brethren  (Moravians) )  who  came  from  Georgia 
with  their  pastor,  Peter  Bochler;  and  joined  their  church.  In  1745  (during 
the  French  and  Indian  war,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Brooklyn 
militia,  but  resigned  his  commission  on  account  of  much  jealousy,  which 
was  felt  and  expressed  in  certain  quarters.  Soon  after  he  was  made  the 
executor  of  the  estate  of  an  intimate  friend,  Thomas  Noble,  a  merchant  and 
zealous  Moravian;  and,  in  1750.  removed  with  his  family,  to  Bethlehem, 
Penn..  where  he  resided  in  a  stone  house,  built  for  him  by  the  brethren, 
which  is  still  standing.  His  children  were  educated  at  Bethlehem,  before 
his  own  removal  there ;  and  his  ample  means  enabled  him  to  live  among  the 
Moravians  without  any  business  cares,  except  such  as  pertained  to  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace,  which  he  held  among  them  for  twelve  years.  He 
stood  deservedly  high  among  them,  being  a  man  of  unblemished  character. 

16 


122  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

and  was  of  much  assistance  to  the  brethren  in  their  intercourse  with  the 
provincial  government  and  with  the  Indian'tribes  in  that  part  of  the  colony, 
while  his  acquaintance  with  business  matters  rendered  him  a  kind  of  legal 
adviser  to  his  German  friends,  who  were  unacquainted  with  the  modes  of 
transacting  matters  in  this  New  World. 

John  Carpenter  (or  Carpender),  whom  we  have  mentioned  {ante, 
44,  119),  as  occupying  one  of  the  old  Horsfield  houses,  was  also  a  butcher. 
From  what  we  can  learn  of  him,  he  and  his  brother  Benjamin  were  sons 
of  George  and  Elizabeth  Carpenter,  who  came  from  Long  Island,  about  1718, 
to  the  city  of  New  York,  of  which  the  father  became  a  freeman,  entering 
into  business  as  a  butcher,  which  he  continued  until  his  death,  about  1730. 
His  widow  then  carried  on  the  business,  with  the  help  of  her  sons,  and 
became  a  very  successful  butcheress.  In  the  Negro  Plot  of  1741,  she 
lost  two  of  her  most  valuable  butcher  slaves,  one  of  whom  was  burned  at 
the  stake,  and  another  transported ;  while  in  1756,  she  lost  one  by  running 
away,  and  again  in  1759.  Mrs.  Carpenter  died  in  April,  1776,  aged  85 
years,  and  the  press  of  that  day  says,  "  she  had  been  a  very  respectable  in- 
habitant." Her  son  John,  in  1743,  leased  for  one  year  all  the  stands  and 
standings  in  the  public  markets  of  the  city,  for  the  sum  of  £98  j  and  shortly 
after,  was  induced,  by  the  inconvenience  and  danger  of  crossing  the  river 
with  cattle,  and  the  many  objections  found  in  the  public  slaughtering  house 
of  the  city,  to  move  over  to  Brooklyn,  near  the  ferry.  In  the  years  1748, 
'50,  and  '51,  he  was  returned  from  this  place  as  a  grand  juror;  in  1755, 
was  the  owner  of  three  slaves,  and,  the  same  year,  had  a  house  to  let, 
"within  half  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  ferry,  on  Long  Island."  In 
1757,  he  offered  for  sale,  "  a  good  dwelling  house  and  lot  of  ground  at  the 
ferry,  opposite  Mr.  John  Rapalje's."  In  1763,  he  was  one  of  the  butchers, 
who  defied  the  authorities  in  regard  to  the  enforcement  of  the  obnoxious 
assize  law  of  that  year ;  and  the  complaint  against  him  specifies  that  he 
"  hath  openly  and  contemptuously  declared,  that  he  would  sell  his  beef  for 
four-pence  half-penny  per  pound,  in  spite  of  all  the  wise-heads  that  made 
the  law  could  do."  For  this  he  was  ordered  to  appear  before  the  board,  and 
the  mayor  was  requested  to  remove  him  from  the  market.  Carpenter 
appeared  and  claimed  the  freedom  of  the  city ;  but  the  charge  was  proven 
against  him,  his  license  was  taken  from  him,  he  was  turned  out  of  the 
market,  and  also,  disenfranchised.  In  1769,  he  had  property  to  let  near  the 
ferry;  and,  in  the  following  year,  he  announced  that  the  Jamaica  stage 
would  set  out  to  and  from  that  place,  on  Mondays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays, 
or  oftener,  if  required — passages  one  shilling  and  six-pence  each  way  —  and 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  123 

the  uext  year  he  notified  passengers  from  Now  York,  to  apply  at  Mrs.  Fish's, 
at  the  ferry  stairs,  or  that  side.  In  June,  1776,  he  was  engaged  in  supply- 
ing meat  to  the  Continental  army,  and  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of 
cattle,  which  were  prevented,  by  the  troublous  times,  from  coming  to  the  city, 
he  was  obliged  to  seud  a  drover  into  Dutchess  county  to  purchase  stock. 
The  cattle  so  obtained,  were,  on  their  return,  taken  by  another  butcher,  who 
refused  to  give  them  up,  and  Carpenter  appealed  to  the  Continental  congress, 
who  directed  that  they  should  be  restored  to  him.  During  the  war,  Carpen- 
ter remained  on  Long  Island,  occasionally  attending  the  New  York  markets 
to  obtain  stock.  He  was  indicted  for  adherence  to  the  loyal  cause,  but  no 
witnesses  appearing  against  him,  he  was  unmolested.  In  1785,  he  was  the 
treasurer  and  one  of  the  trustees  of  an  Independent  congregation,  which 
was  incorporated  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  and  which  erected  a  frame  church 
edifice  in  what  was  afterwards  St.  Ann's  burial  ground.1  Furman  says,  in 
his  Manuscript  Notes,  that  "  disliking  the  proceedings  of  his  associates,  and 
the  church  being  very  much  indebted  to  him,  Carpenter  locked  up  the 
church  building,  put  the  key  in  his  pocket,  refused  them  admission,  and 
afterwards  sold  the  church  and  ground  to  the  Episcopalian  congregation, 
which  he  joined,"  and  from  which  he  was  a  lay  delegate  in  1788,  '90  and 
91.  He  probably  died  in  1796,  at  which  time  the  Widow  Carpenter,  was 
living  "  near  the  Old  Ferry."  - 

His  brother  Benjamin  removed  to  Brooklyn  about  the  same  time  with 
him  ;  but,  in  1761,  appears  as  an  inhabitant  of  Jamaica.  He  was  a  butcher, 
and,  after  the  Kevolution,  removed  to  Brooklyn  again,  changing  his  business 
somewhat,  by  dealing  in  the  smaller  animals,  "  which  were  invariably  dressed 
with  much  taste  and  cleanliness."  Although  obliged  to  walk  with  a  crutch 
from  youth  he  continued  to  be  quite  active  in  business,  until  quite  aged. 

Resuming  our  walk,  after  this  biographical  digression,  we  find 
that,  from  the  southerly  side  of  Doughty  street,  about  one  hundred 
feet  west  of  George  Hicks'  house,  commenced  a  lane  or  road  ex- 
tending  south-westerly,  along  under  the  edge  of  the  Heights,  till 
it  met  the  beach  of  the  East  river,  at  a  little  distance  beyond  the 
foot  of  the  present  Poplar  street.     This  road,  originally  opened, 

*Xow  covered  by  St.  Ann's  buildings,  Fulton  street,  opposite  Clinton  street 
(see  also,  ante,  90). 

8  Vol.  l,  450.  Fin-man's  Manuscript  Notes,  also  mentions  him  as  living  in  a  frame 
house  in  Doughty  street,  "  one  of  the  best  built  houses  in  Brooklyn,  having  a  fine  cut 
freestone  cistern  attached." 


124  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

perhaps  by  the  Horsfields ;  was,  about  1816,  paved  from  Doughty 
street  as  far  as  Caze's  factory,  and  rendered  more  passable  than  it 
had  previously  been,  by  Thomas  Everit,  Jr.,  and  Caze,  whose 
property  fronted  upon  it,  on  either  side. 

On  the  westerly  side  of  the  road  (Maps  a  and  b,  10,  11,  12),  was 
Everit's  tan  yard,  a  wooden  storehouse  for  hides,  and  slaughter- 
houses ;  and  next  to  them  (Maps  a  and  b,  13),  were  John  Doughty's. 
On  the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  was  the  old  Everit  house, 
(Maps  a  and  b,  14),  where  Thomas  Everit,  Jr.,  was  born.  By  the 
side  of  the  house,  was  the  famous  Whalebone  gate  from  which 
a  lane  Jed  up  the  hill  to  Mr.  Cary  Ludlow's  residence.1 

Beyond  the  house  and  opposite  the  slaughter-houses  already 
mentioned,  were  the  residences  of  Mike  Trappel  (Maps  a  and  b, 
15),  designated  in  some  old  maps,  as  house  of  Sarah  (widow  of 
Isaac)  Hicks,  and  Burdet  Stryker,  their  entrance  being  on  an 
alley  which  led  into  the  hill.  On  the  other  side  of  the  alley  was 
a  large,  old  fashioned  building  (Maps  a  and  b,  16),  at  one  time 
occupied  by  Caze  &  Richaud's  distillery,  afterwards  purchased 
by  E-obt.  Bach,  for  the  same  purpose,1  and  then,  with  an  interven- 
ing space,  was  a  large  brick  edifice  (Maps  a  and  b,  18),  known, 
from  the  name  of  its  occupant  and  owner,  as  "  the  (John)  Sedgfield 
mansion." 

Continuing  along,  on  the  same  side  of  the  street,  we  pass  three 
or  four  small  houses,  in  one  of  which,  about  where  the  road  de- 
bouched to  the  river  beach,  resided  a  man  named  Coombs,  who 
once  had  the  audacity  to  impede  the  public's  right  of  way,  by 
erecting  a  gate  across  the  road,  in  front  of  his  place,  and  allowing 
no  one  to  pass  without  paying  toll.  This  obstruction,  however, 
was  speedily  removed,  vietarmis,  by  Hugh  McLaughlin,  a  stalwart 
Irishman  who  lived  a  few  doors  below;  and,  fortunately  for  the 
peace  of  the  neighborhood,  was  never  replaced. 

1  Vol.  I,  Map  of  Brooklyn  Ferry,  No.  8. 

1See  "  Draft  of  Israel  Horsfield's  land  at  Old  Ferry,"  1763  — referred  to  on  page 
74  of  our  first  volume  —  a  most  interesting  map  in  connection  with  this  part  of 
the  Heights.  Both  No.  16  and  18  are  put  down  as  Horsfield's  houses  on  said  map. 
If  16,  as  we  think,  was  the  old  Horsfield  brewery,  it  was  partially  destroyed  by  fire,  in 
1818,  being  at  that  time  occupied  as  an  oil  refinery,  by  Messrs.  Cooper,  Houston  &  Co. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  125 

The  road  which  we  have  been  describing,  as  passing  by  Event's 
and  the  distillery,  was  obliterated,  or  rather  superseded  by  the 
opening  of  Columbia  and  Fnrman  streets  to  the  line  of  Doughty. 
A  portion  of  it,  however,  on  which  the  Bach  distillery  is  located, 
still  exists  between  Furraan,  Columbia,  Poplar  and  Doughty 
streets,  being  entered  by  a  gate  and  stairway  from  Columbia 
street. 

In  1823  or  '24  travel  was  opened  from  the  northerly  end  of 
Columbia  street  into  Fulton  street,  by  the  opening  of  a  short  and 
narrow  street  called  Event  street ;  and,  on  the  easterly  corner  of  its 
junction  with  Fulton,  Obed  Jackson  built  the  substantial  brick 
building  now  occupied  by  Alderman  D.  D.  Whitney's  store. 

In  Historical  Magazine,  December,  1867,  Col.  De  Voe  gives  the 
following  sketch  of  the  worthy  family  of  butchers  with  which  the 
name  of  this  street  and  locality  is  associated. 

Thomas  Everit,  Sen.,  who  appears  to  have  come  from  an  old  stock  of 
butchers,  as  we  fiud  early  in  1798,  Edward  Everit.  butcher,  obtained  a  free- 
mansbip  to  commence  business  within  the  city  of  New  York.  Soon  after, 
he  removed  to  Long  Island,  from  which  place  he  attended  the  New  York 
markets,  irregularly. 

Afterwards  appeared  in  the  same  line  of  busines,  a  Richard  Everit,  sup- 
posed to  be  his  son,  who,  1730,  built  or  repaired  a  slaughter-house,  on  a 
small  creek,  which  put  up  from  the  East  river,  in  the  town  of  Breokland. 
The  location  now  would  place  it  at  the  intersection  of  Columbia  and  Doughty 
streets.  In  this  building,  about  1720,  Thomas  Everit,  Sen.,  commenced  his 
profession,  as  it  appears,  without  the  assistance  of  negro  slaves,  his  help 
being  the  white  servants,  whose  time  he  Jiad  purchased,  and  his  apprentices, 
with  whom  he  attended  the  New  YTork  markets  almost  daily. 

In  1763,  the  Press  says,  "  There  was  killed  by  Thomas  Everit.  a  cow  raised 
and  fattened  by  Col.  Ben.  Treadwell,  of  Great  Neck,  whose  weight  was  (meat, 
hide  and  rough  fat),  813  pounds.  This  perhaps  exceeds  any  killed  in  this 
province."  In  1769,  we  find  Everit  in  receipt  of  the  property  of  Samuel 
Skidmore,  a  butcher,  previously  noticed,  who  ''gave  notice  to  his  creditors 
to  show  cause  why  an  assignment  of  his  estate  should  not  be  made  to  Thomas 
Everit,  also  of  Brooklyn,  on  Nassau  island,  butcher,  and  he  be  thereupon 
discharged."  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  "a  meeting  of  the 
Company  of  Light  Horse,  of  Brooklyn,  was  held  on  the  15th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1775,  at  Adolph   Waldron's,   inn   holder,   at   Brooklyn   Ferry,  wheu 


126  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Thomas  Everit  was  elected  second  lieutenant.  In  the  month  of  March  fol- 
lowing (1776),  he  signed  the  declaration  and  took  up  his  commission/' 

Onderdonk  informs  us,  that  the  members  of  this  troop  were  first  in  service 
under  Gen.  Greene,  who  ordered  them  to  seize  all  the  fat  stock  of  the  dis- 
affected for  Commissary  Brown.  They  next  drove  off  stock  under  Gen. 
Woodhull;  and,  after  the  defeat  at  Brooklyn,  in  August,  1776,  as  they  were 
proceeding  eastward  to  join  Colonel  Livingston,  they  were  ordered  off  the 
island  by  Colonel  Potter.  Everit,  however,  returned  ;  and,  in  the  month 
of  November,  following,  renewed  his  allegiance  to  King  George.  He  was  a 
man  of  considerable  talent,  strictly  honest,  and  possessed  a  very  kind  heart. 
His  sons,  Thomas,  William,  and  Richard,  were  also  butchers,  and  will  be 
noticed  in  their  proper  order. 

Thomas.  Everit,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  in  1764.  When  a  boy, 
he  was  remarkable  for  his  quiet  and  studious  habits;  and,  for  those  warlike 
times,  he  became  an  excellent  scholar.  He  served  with  his  father  until  he 
mastered  his  profession,  when  he  took  charge  of  his  father's  stall  and  busi- 
ness in  the  old  Fly  Market,  in  New  York,  where  he  continued  until  about 
the  year  1796,  when  he  quit  the  market  j  became  engaged  in  farming,  near 
Hempstead ;  and  joined  the  Society  of  Friends.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  years, 
he  returned  to  Brooklyn.  Here,  with  his  old  bosom  friend,  John  Doughty, 
he  formed  a  partnership  in  the  tanning  and  wool  business,  and  established 
a  successful  and  extensive  trade;  after  which  his  partner  retired  from  the  firm. 

Mr.  Michael  Trappel,  yet  living,  once  a  Brooklyn  butcher,  informed  me 
that  he  worked  for  Everit  during  more  than  twenty  years,  in  this  hide  and 
wool  business  ;  and  that  he  always  knew  him  to  be  the  same  honest,  unpre- 
tending, good  man,  whose  simple  habits,  dress,  and  speech  were  fully  and 
faithfully  carried  out,  in  his  new  faith.  He  was  always  seeking  to  do  his 
fellow  man  some  service,  either  by  advice  or  assistance,  and  this,  too,  in  the 
most  unassuming  manner ;  as  many  will  bear  testimony,  even  at  this  late 
day.  He  continued  business,  many  years,  in  Brooklyn,  from  whence  he 
afterwards  removed  it,  to  No.  32  Ferry  street,  New  York,  where  yet  remains 
his  son  Valentine,  continuing  his  predecessor's  business.  Thomas  Everit 
died  in  the  year  1841,  leaving  many  relatives  and  friends,  the  latter  of 
whom  yet  speak  glowingly  of  his  many  virtues. 

His  brother  William,  in  1775,  joined  the  troop  with  Thomas,  as  a 
private,  and  continued  with  it  until  it  left  Long  Island ;  and  afterwards,  it 
is  stated,  he  was  engaged  in  the  commissary  department  of  the  American 
army.  We  do  not,  however,  find  him.  again,  until  the  year  1786,  when  he 
appeared  in  the  Fly  Market,  and  was  a  resident  of  the  city  of  New  Y"ork. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  127 

RICHARD  Everit,  another  brother,  also  attended  the  same  market,  and 
resided  with  his  lather,  at  Brooklyn,  until  his  marriage,  when  he  removed 
quite  near  the  ferry.  He  afterwards  became  one  of  the  first  board  of  trustees 
of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  meeting  house,  established  here,  in  1794. 
In  1796,  we  find  advertised  at  private  sale,  a  large  plot  of  ground  and 
lereral  houses,  in  Brooklyn,  besides  three  or  four  rooms  to  let,  in  a  house 
fronting  on  the  East  river.  "  For  particulars  enquire  of  Richard  Everit  or 
John  Doughty,  in  the  Fly  Market,  No.  47."  He  did  not,  however,  remain 
long  after  this  in  the  old  market,  as  he  was  stricken  with  the  yellow  fever ; 
and  died  in  the  calamitous  year  1798. 

We  have  now  fairly  got  upon  the  beach  road,  which  extended 
along  the  river,  under  the  heights,  on  the  line  of  the  present 
Furman  street.  First,  we  come,  on  the  west  side,  to  a  long 
wooden  building  used  as  a  slaughter  house;  then  to  Thomas 
Goen's  house,  who  carried  on,  at  this  place,  the  manufacture  of 
salt  by  evaporation  from  salt  water.  Then,  the  residence  of 
William  Thompson,  the  waterman,  who  supplied  the  Xew  York 
shipping  with  fresh  water,  and  a  tavern  kept  by  an  Englishman, 
whose  sign  was  a  swinging  gate  projecting  over  the  street ;  bear- 
ing on  its  bars,  the  following  inscription : 

"This  sign  hangs  high, 
It  hinders  none, 
Come,  take  a  nip, 
And  travel  on." 

On  the  east  side  of  the  road,  a  little  beyond  the  line  of  the  pre- 
sent Middagh  street  (Map  b,  20)  were  Thompson's  pumps.  The 
appearance  of  the  beach  well  strewn  with  water  butts  and 
lined  with  water  boats  awaiting  their  cargoes,  and  the  waterman's 
shanty,  are  all  well  preserved  in  a  fine  painting  in  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Charles  E.  Bill,  of  Columbia  street,  Brooklyn.1 


1  William  Thompson,  a  boat  builder  (but  whether  the  one  mentioned  above 
we  are  not  certain),  is  thus  mentioned  by  Furman  in  his  Manuscript  Notes  (ix,  1G7), 
under  date  of  1837.  "  Twenty-five  years  ago,  [1812]  and  before  the  introduction  of 
steamboats  on  our  waters,  the  building  of  small  boats  was  carried  on  much  more 
extensively  than  it  is  at  present ;  and  then  afforded  a  decent  and  comfortable  sub- 
sistence to  double  the  number  of  persons  that  it  now  does.  Then,  New  York  was 
famous  for  the  small,  light,   swift  boats  built  in  its  harbor.     John   Chambers  of 


128  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Further  along,  on  the  west  side,  between  the  lines  of  the  present 
Cranberry  and  Orange  streets,  were  the  dock  and  extensive  store- 
houses belonging  to  Jonathan  Thompson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  warehousing  business  in  Brooklyn.  In  1797,  the  firm  of 
Gardinier,  Thompson  and  Co.  purchased  a  water  lot  here  and 
erected  a  bulkhead  and  warehouse  for  storage  purposes  in  connec- 
tion with  their  business  as  West  India  merchants.  In  1800,  the 
partnership  was  dissolved  and  the  storage  business  was  continued, 
thenceforth,  by  Jonathan  Thompson,  until  his  death.  For  a  long 
time,  his  warehouses  (Map  b,  28)  were  known  as  the  White 
Cotton  Stores ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  a  large  number 
of  the  cotton  bales  used  by  Gov.  Jackson,  at  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  were  there  repacked  and  stored. 

Jonathan  Thompson  was  born  in  the  town  of  Islip,  Suffolk  county, 
L.  I.,  December  7th,  1773.  His  father  was  Isaac  Thompson,  one  of  the 
judges  of  the   court  of  common    pleas,  and  his  mother,  a  daughter  of  Col. 

the  city  of  New  York,  and  William  Chambers  and  William  Thompson  of  Brooklyn, 
were  among  the  most  noted  of  these  builders.  John  Chambers  built  a  boat  twenty-seven 
feet  long,  which  when  entirely  finished,  with  her  thwarts  in,  weighed  but  ninety-six 
pounds,  and  could  easily  be  lifted  out  of  water  by  one  man.  She  was  built  of  cedar  plank 
so  thin  that  the  rays  of  sun-light  shone  through,  and  on  trial  proved  a  very  fast  boat. 
"  Chambers  in  Brooklyn  had  his  boat  building  yard  between  the  Old  and  New 
Ferries  ;  of  him  I  have  not  much  recollection.  Of  Thompson,  however,  I  have  a  dis- 
tinct remembrance,  and  recollect  how  delightful  it  was  to  sit  in  his  long,  low  shop, 
on  a  clear  warm  summer  afternoon,  toward  sunset,  and  feel  the  soft  breeze  as  it  swept 
in  under  tlie  shed  (which  in  warm  weather,  was  open  on  all  sides),  from  the  river ; 
and  hear  him  tell  his  stories,  for  he  was  full  of  anecdotes,  both  of  this  and  the  old 
country,  having  come  from  Whitby  in  England  during  the  Revolution.  When  I 
look  back  it  seems  to  me  that  the  shores  as  they  then  appeared  in  their  almost  natu- 
ral state,  with  large  rocks  and  gravel  beach,  were  much  pleasanter  than,  as  now, 
covered  with  wharves  and  stores.  We  may  add,  in  this  connection,  that  Jeremiah 
Johnson  says  that  previous  to  1788,  the  principal  business  of  the  town  was  carried 
on  by  small  boats  and  perigauas,  carrying  furniture,  manure,  boards,  etc.,  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  township.  In  that  year,  however,  docks  were  erected,  and  sloops  for 
firewood,  lumber,  and  other  articles  to  vend  arrived  here.  After  that,  brigs  with 
West  India  and  Southern  produce,  tar,  wine  and  tobacco  arrived,  and  carried  away 
staves,  plank,  flour,  etc.  The  first  ship  that  ever  landed  and  took  in  a  cargo  at  this 
town  was  the  Sarah,  owned  by  Messrs.  C.  &  J.  Sands,  about  ten  or  twelve  years  ago 
(1788  or  '90).  The  first  Indiaman  built  on  the  island  was  that  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  John  Jackson,  in  the  year  1798.  In  1799,  the  United  States  frigate 
John  Adams,  thirty-two  guns,  was  launched  at  the  Wallabout." 


BISTORT!  OF  BBOOEL1  N.  129 

Abraham  Gardener,  of  East  Hampton,  L.  I.  As  a  politician,  previous  to 
and  during  the  war  of  L812,  Mr.  Thompson  was  prominent  in  the  old  repub- 
lican parry  of  that  period,  favoring  the  war  and  officiating  for  ten  successive 
years  as  chairman  of  the  llepublican   General  Committee,  at  that  time  an 

important  position.  As  such  he  presided  at  the  first  public  meeting  held  in 
old  Tammany  Hall.  In  consequence  of  his  long  service  as  presiding 
officer,  lie  received  the  appellation  of  Everlasting  Chairman.  On  Novem- 
ber 2-4,  1813,  he  was  appoiuted  by  President  James  Madison,  collector  of 
direct  taxes  and  internal  duties,  under  the  Act  of  July  22d,  1813,  and  con- 
tinued as  such  until  the  closure  of  the  office  in  1819.  On  December  5th, 
1820,  he  was  appointed  by  President  James  Monroe,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  collector  of  the  customs  for 
the  district  of  New  York,  to  which  office  he  was  reappointed  by  the  same 
chief  magistrate,  January  13th,  1825,  and  again  reappointed  by  President 
John  Quiucy  Adams,  January  27th,  1829,  and  removed  by  President 
Andrew  Jackson,  April  25th,  1829,  in  order  to  award  the  office  to  his  (the 
president's),  particular  friend  Samuel  Swartwout. 

During  the  official  connection  of  Mr.  Thompson  with  the  government, 
his  fidelity  and  accuracy  were  so  remarkable  that  with  all  the  rigid  scrutiny 
exercised  by  the  examiners  at  Washington,  no  error  was  found  in  his  accounts, 
excepting  the  memorable  ten  cent  defalcation  discovered  during  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  about  the  time  that  strenuous  efforts  were 
being  made  to  effect  his  removal  from  office  on  political  grounds,  he  having 
favored  the  election  of  Win.  H.  Crawford  to  the  presidency.  Mr.  Adams 
had  so  much  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  Mr.  Thompson,  as  proven  by  the 
correctness  of  his  accounts,  that  he  declined  removing  him,  and  at  an  inter- 
view in  New  York,  personally  narrated  the  whole  story.  From  1829,  Mr. 
Thompson  was  in  no  public  position,  but  continued  his  warehouse  business 
on  a  more  extended  scale,  by  adding  to  the  river  front,  and  erection  of 
buildings.  In  1840,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  Manhattan  company, 
at  the  time  of  its  financial  embarrassment,  and  by  his  prudence  and  able 
management,  it  was  reinstated  among  dividend  paying  institutions.  He 
continued  in  this  office  until  his  death,  December  30th,  1S4G. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  unostentatious  in  manner  j  he  courted  no  popularity, 
and  although  he  never  filled  or  desired  to  fill  any  exalted  station  among  the 
great  ones  of  the  land,  yet  carried  with  him  no  stinted  share  of  that  respect, 
which  belongs  to  genuine  worth,  and  dying,  left  behind  him  a  name  which 
relatives  and  friends  have  never  heard,  and  never  will  hear,  connected  with 
aught  but  expressions  of  approbation  and  esteem. 

17 


130  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Opposite  to  Mr.  Thompson's  stores,  and  on  the  east  side  of  the 
way;  was  the  little  house  occupied  by  his  foreman ;  and  behind  it, 
half  way  up  the  bank,  was  a  notable  spring  of  excellent  water. 

Between  this  point  and  Pierrepont's  distillery,  at  the  foot  of 
Joralemon's  lane,  five  or  six  small  dwellings  nestled  along  under 
the  Heights  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  road,  four  of  which  were 
coopers'  shops,  and  one  near  the  line  of  the  present  Clarke  street, 
a  tavern  kept  by  the  Widow  Vanderveer. 

On  the  west,  or  river  side  of  the  road,  we  notice  next  beyond 
Jonathan  Thompson's  stores,  at  about  the  foot  of  the  present 
Orange  street,  a  dock  (Map  b,  29)  known  as  the  Milkmen's 
dock.  Here,  every  morning,  "  rain  or  shine,"  came  the  vendors 
of  "  lacteal  fluid,"  stabled  their  horses  in  a  row  of  sheds  erected 
for  the  purpose,  under  the  shelter  of  the  Heights;  and,  clubbing 
together  in  the  hire  of  boats,  were  rowed  with  their  milk-cans  over 
to  New  York,  encountering,  not  infrequently,  during  the  severe 
winter  months,  much  suffering  and  even  serious  danger  from  fierce 
winds,  and  floating  ice.  Their  cans  were  suspended  from  yokes 
across  their  shoulders,  and  thus  accoutered  they  peddled  off  their 
milk  in  the  city  and  returned  in  the  afternoon,  wind  and  weather 
permitting,  to  the  Brooklyn  side  where  they  "  hitched  up  "  their 
teams  and  started  for  their  homes.  Next  we  come  to  Tread- 
well  &  Thome's  stores;  then  to  a  storehouse  owned  by  Ro- 
bert Black,  and  which,  during  the  war  of  1812,  he  converted 
into  a  manufactory  of  salt,  produced  from  the  water  of  the  East 
river,  by  evaporation ; l  the  large  wooden  Red  stores,  as  they 
were  called,  belonging  to  Messrs.  Kimberly  &  Waring  (afterwards 
to  Mr.  Henry  Waring);  then  a  row  of  tar  sheds,  and  another 
large  wooden  store  belonging  to  the  same  firm,  and  near  the 
adjoining  slip,  stood  Tony  Philpot's  little  ale  shop,  with  its  sign 
representing  two  flagons  of  ale,  one  emptying  into  the  other. 
Tony  was  an  Englishman,  and  his  place,  well  furnished  with  nine 
pin  alley,  shuffle  board,  etc.,  was  a  great  resort  for  the  long  shore 
men  and  lower  classes,  to  whom  its  semi-secluded  position  afforded 

1  The  embarrassments  consequent  on  the  war — the  great  natural  deposits  of  this 
saline  commodity  in  this  state,  having  not  then  been  discovered  —  gave  rise  to  many 
expedients  for  its  artificial  prcduction. 


BISTORI  OF  BROOKL1  V  j:;i 

free i  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  unrestrained  and  often  uproari- 
ous jollity.      In  the  slip  near  by,  Mr    William  Niblo,  the  well 

known  caterer  of  New  York,  had  a  floating  crib  in  which  he  kept 
the  turtles,  which,  from  time  to  time,  he  served  up  upon  the  tables 
of  his  hotel ;  not  forgetting  to  give  his  friend  Mr.  Henry  Waring, 
at  least  once  a  year,  a  fine  green  turtle,  by  way  of  rent. 

Beyond  this,  was  open  shore  to  a  point  about  halfway  between 
the  lines  of  the  present  Clarke  and  Pierrepont  streets,  where  was 
located  a  public  landing  called  the  Kingston  lot.1  After  this 
property  was  purchased  by  Samuel  Jackson,  this  lot  was  enclosed 
by  him  for  his  private  purposes ;  and  thus  another  of  the  public 
landings  belonging  to  Brooklyn  has  disappeared. 

Next  to  the  Kingston  lot,  and  north  of  the  line  of  Pierrepont 
street,  if  continued,  was  Samuel  Jackson's  large  dock  (Map  B,  46) 
upon  which  were  erected  three  wooden  stores. 

From  this  dock  to  Pierrepont's  distillery  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon 
street,  was  an  open  sandy  beach,  along  which  the  tide  ebbed  and 
flowed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  it,  at  times,  impassable. 

Pierrepont's  Anchor  gin  distillery  was  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Livingston  brewery,  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon's  lane.1  Mr.  Pierre- 
pont had  rebuilt  the  old  brewery  building  (Map  b,  64)  a  large, 
wharf,  a  windmill,  which  was  exclusively  used  for  the  purposes  of 
the  distillery,  and  several  large  wTooden  storehouses,  in  which  he 
kept  the  gin  stored  for  a  full  year  after  it  was  made,  by  which  it 
acquired  the  mellowness  for  which  it  was  peculiarly  esteemed. 
The  distillery  was  discontinued  about  1819;  was  sold  to  Mr. 
Samuel  Mitchell  who  used  it  as  a  candle  factory  for  a  time,  and, 
subsequently,  was  occupied,  as  a  distillery,  by  Messrs.  Schenck  & 
Rutherford;  and  having  since  been  raised  and  enlarged  is  now 
(1869),  occupied  as  a  sugar  house.  The  old  windmill  (Map  b,  646), 
remained  until  about  1825,  though  unused.  Fttrmaii's  Notes  assert 
on  the  excellent  authority  of  old  Mr.  John  Cole,  the  carriage 
maker,  that  "  during  the  Revolution,  an  English  ship-of-war  was 
driven  ashore  near  the  foot  of  Joralemon  street,  where  she  was 


^ee  Map  b,  44 ;  also,  mention  of  the  John  Kingston  lot  on   page  92,  note. 
3  Vol.  i,  307,  tiote'S. 


132  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

abandoned;  and  that,  after  the  war,  he  made  from  a  piece  of  her 
keel,  a  pair  of  wheel  hubs,  for  a  man  who  was  going  by  wagon  to 
Kentucky." 

Joralemon's  lane  was  a  miserable  rutted  country  road  between 
the  Joralemon  and  Remsen  farms ;  and,  towards  its  lower  portion 
(from  Hicks  street  to  the  East  river),  preserved  much  of  its  original 
character  of  a  ravine,  along  under  the  southerly  edge  of  the 
Heights.  At  the  time  of  which  we  speak  it  was  little  traversed, 
except  by  carts  bearing  distillery  swill,  or  grain  going  to  be  ground 
into  gin.  It  was  originally  laid  out  by  Hendrick  and  Peter  Rem- 
sen  and  Philip  Livingston,  Esq.,  as  a  road  of  convenience  or 
common  way  between  their  respective  farms  "from  the  high- 
way and  to  the  river,"  on  the  14th  of  December,  1762 ;  and  was 
then  two  rods,  or  thirty-two  feet  wide.  By  Loss's  map  of  the 
Livingston  farm  1801,  it  was  made  fifty  feet  wide,  i.  e.,  twenty-five 
feet  off  from  each  farm. 

As  we  emerge  from  Joralemon's  lane  we  pass,  upon  the  site  of 
the  present  First  Dutch  Reformed  church  building,  its  predecessor, 
erected  in  1810.  It  was  a  heavily  proportioned  edifice,  of  gray 
stone,  with  small  windows  and  a  square  tower  in  front,  surmounted 
by  a  square  cupola.  The  space  in  front  of  it,  now  occupied  by 
our  City  Hall,  was  then  an  open  field,  skirted  by  the  old  highway. 
"Where  the  lane  debouched  into  the  highway,  and  on  the  site  of  our 
stately  County  Court  House1  there  then  stood  the  Military 
Garden  (Map  b,  68),  a  place  of  resort  famous  in  the  village  annals 
of  Brooklyn. 

The  small  building  which  many  of  our  readers  will  remember 
to  have  formed  the  western  part  of  the  Military  Garden  was  origin- 
ally occupied,  as  near  as  we  can  ascertain,  by  Thomas  Coe,  a  black- 
smith, who  had  his  shop  adjoining.  It  passed,  about  1810,  into  the 
keeping  of  eccentric  old  Col.  Greene,  at  which  time  it  first  became 
known  as  Military  Garden.  It  reached  its  maximum  of  reputa- 
tion, however,  during  the  regime  of 

Mons.  John  Francois  Louis  Du  Flon,  a  rosy-cheeked,  cheery 
Swiss,  who  is  still  most  pleasantly  remembered  by  many  of  our  citizens,  who 

1  And  partly  also  on  the  site  of  the  Brooklyn  Garden. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  138 

are  to  the  manor  born.     A   native  of  Neufohatel,  in  Switzerland,  married 

in  1803,  to  an  energetic  and  estimable  lady,  who  still  survive-  him,  he 
became,  soon  after  settling  in  New  York  city,  a  clerk  to  Mr.  John  Jules, 
an  importer  of  French  goods.  In  course  of  a  few  years  he  accumulated 
quite  a  handsome  little  property,  which  he  was  induced,  in  April,  1822,  to 
invest  in  the  purchase  of  this  property.  Although  neither  he  nor  his  wife 
had  been  bred  to  this  occupation,  they  soon  developed  the  tact  and  enter- 
prise, which  proved  that  they  could  keep  a  hotel,  and  which  secured  them 
hosts  of  friends.  Mr.  Du  Flon  was  induced  by  the  Freemasons,  who  had 
hitherto  been  occupying  lodge  rooms  in  Lawrence  Brower's  tavern,  to  erect 
a  larger  building  (which  formed  the  eastern  part  of  the  garden,  as  the  pre- 
sent generation  remember  it),  in  which  suitable  accommodations  could  be 
furnished  to  the  craft.  This  he  did,  and  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  which  finally  ended  in  his  succumbing  to  a  fore- 
closure of  mortgage  by  John  Schenck,  his  principal  creditor.  Poor  Du  Flon 
found,  as  many  another  public  spirited  man  has  done,  that  the  friends  who 
are  ready  with  fine  suggestions,  are  not  so  ready  with  the  cash  to  back  them ; 
and  that  the  public  is  very  willing  to  have  some  one  lead  the  march  of  im- 
provement, provided  they  are  not  holden  for  the  result.  Yet  Du  Flon  was 
a  general  favorite;  his  pleasant  Garden,  with  its  superior  ice-cream,  its 
tastefully  appointed  viands,  its  attractions  of  flowers  and  shrubbery  —  for  he 
and  his  wife  had  the  characteristic  of  their  countrymen,  a  passion  for  floral 
pleasures  — his  own  urbanity  and  cheerfulness  of  disposition,  made  his  place 
the  resort,  par  excellence,  of  the  best  village  society  ;  while  his  hall,  from  its 
superior  size  and  accommodations,  afforded  an  excellent  place  for  the  balls, 
amateur  concerts,  and  traveling  shows,  which  from  time  to  time  stirred 
into  momentary  excitement,  the  otherwise  unruffled  pulse  of  the  community. 
When  General  Lafayette  visited  Brooklyn,  during  his  visit  to  America,  in 
1824,  he  received  his  friends  at  the  Military  Garden,  and  as  he  grasped 
Poppy  Du  Flon's  hand  (for  such  was  the  respectfully-familiar  nickname 
given  him  by  his  fellow  villagers),  he  recognized  in  him  the  sick  man  whom 
he  had  attended,  among  others,  at  a  lonely  house  on  the  frontier,  during  the 
llevolutionary  war,  and  whom  he  had  sat  up  with,  watched  and  nursed  for 
several  days.  Both  gentlemen  were  affected  to  tears.  Poppy  Du  Flon's 
life  was  unobtrusive,  but  useful;  and  his  death,  which  occurred  March  4, 
1853,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  was  lamented  by  all.  He  left  a  wife,  still 
living,  and  eight  children,  all  but  two  of  whom  settled  in  and  around 
Brooklyn. 


134  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In, the  rear  of  the  garden,  was  the  old  Potter's  field  (vol.  I,  page 
894,  note  3),  now  (1869)  covered  by  the  stables  and  Burnham's  gym- 
nasium, on  Boerum  street,  on  the  estate  of  Joseph  Schenk,  deceased. 

Hicks  Street,  the  next  street  which  we  propose  to  traverse,  was, 
as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Maps  a  and  b,  quite  narrow  at  its 
entrance  on  the  old  road,  and  climbed  the  hill  (between  present 
Fulton  and  Middagh  streets)  which  was  so  steep  as  to  be  ascended, 
by  loaded  vehicles,  with  considerable  difficulty.  Passing  the 
John  M.  Hicks'  house  already  mentioned  (ante,  54),  on  the  corner 
of  Doughty  street,  and  garden  adjoining,  we  come,  on  the  westerly 
side,  to  Mr.  Brown's ;  Alex.  Birbeck's  blacksmith's  shop  and 
his  dwelling  adjoining;  then,  Mr.  Haight's,  still  standing  on  the 
corner  of  Poplar  street.  Between  this  and  Middagh  street  were 
six  frame  houses,  mostly  occupied  by  two  families  apiece.  Be- 
yond Middagh,  three  small  houses,  standing  back  from  the  street ; 
then  James  Weaver's  house,  next  the  corner  of  the  present  Cran- 
berry street.  This  was  the  end  of  Hicks  street  —  all  beyond  being 
fields  and  orchards.  Retracing  our  steps  along  the  easterly  side 
of  Hicks  street,  we  find  but  five  buildings,  one  of  which  was  occu- 
pied by  William  Thompson,  formerly  a  negro  slave  of  the  Hickses, 
from  whom  he  had  received  his  freedom  and  the  lot  upon  which 
he  lived.  Then,  we  come  to  the  old  Hicks  mansion  at  the  corner 
of  Fulton  and  Hicks  street,  which  has  been  already  fully  described 
on  page  54. 

In  the  rear  of  Hicks  street  (between  Poplar  and  Doughty)  was 
McKenny  street,  a  narrow  lane,  originally  14J,  but  now  35  feet 
wide,  in  which  were  about  a  dozen  dwellings. 

From  the  western  side  of  McKenney  street,  about  equi-distant 
from  Doughty  and  Poplar,  extended  a  short  cul-de-sac  lane,  about 
20  feet  wide,  originally  known  as  I'yke  street,  from  its  fancied  re- 
semblance to  a  fisherman's  net.1  About  twenty  years  ago,  it  was 
opened  through  to  Columbia  street,  and  is  now  known  as  Vine 
street,  so  named  from  a  huge  grape  vine  which  covered  the  front 
of  the  house  occupied  by  Polly  Fisher,  one  of  the  original  residents 
of  that  locality.     Vine  street  contained  seven  dwellings;  so  that  it 

delineated  on  Alex.  Martin's  Map  of  Brooklyn,  1834. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOK1A  v  L85 

may  be  safely  estimated  thai  these  three  little  streets,  Hicks,  Mc- 
Kenny  and  Vine,  represented  about  one  hundred  souls,  in  the 
early  enumeration  of  the  village  inhabitants. 

Middagh  was  the  last  street  opened  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Old  Ferry  road,  within  the  village  limits,  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  portion  of  Joralemon's  lane,  near  the  Dutch  church,  and  a 
small  portion  of  Ked  Hook  lane.  On  its  northerly  side,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Public  School  No.  8,  was  the  Consistory 
room  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  In  this  humble  building, 
which  then  stood  in  the  midst  of  Aert  Middagh's  fields,  a  school 
was  kept  under  the  direction  of  the  trustees  of  the  church.1 
There  were  but  five  other  buildings  on  the  street ;  although,  on  a 
little  lane  running  out  of  it,  about  where  Henry  street  now  is,  there 
were  four  or  five  small  dwellings.  A  few  houses  (perhaps  not 
more  than  six),  were  to  be  found  on  a  road,  now  called  Poplar 
ttreel,  extending  then  only  as  far  as  Buckbee's  alley  (now 
Poplar  Place) ;  and  three  on  the  road,  now  Q*anberry  street,  between 
Hicks  and  Willow.  On  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Cranberry  and 
AVillow  streets,  was  the  house  built  by  Mr.  George  Gibbs,  in  whose 
garden  the  Isabella  grape-vine  first  obtained  its  notoriety,  about 
the  year  1816.  His  wife  obtained  it  from  North  Carolina,  and 
after  its  value  became  known,  she  gave  cuttings  liberally  to  her 
neighbors.  A  few  gentlemen  of  Brooklyn,  in  compliment,  gave 
it  her  name,  Isabella,  and  exerted  themselves  to  multiply  cut- 
tings, and  make  its  fine  qualities  more  widely  known.  By  the 
aid  of  various  publications,  in  the  Long  Island  Star,1  and  other 
papers,  it  soon  became  the  cherished  ornament  and  pride  of  every 
garden   and   door-yard,  and   rapidly   spread    not    only   through 

^ne  John  Mann  was  the  first  teacher  in  this  school,  from  about  1812  to  1813,  but 
haying  Beverely  punished  a  son  of  John  Simonson,  the  butcher,  was  sued,  and  a 
judgment  of  five  hundred  dollars  given  against  him.  He  left  and  was  succeeded 
(1814  to  181G),  by  William  Close,  a  tine  looking,  but  somewhat  passionate  man  ;  he, 
by  Mr.  Laird,  a  Scotchman  ;  and  in  April,  1818,  John  Laidlaw  (yet  living  in  Brooklyn), 
look  charge  of  this  school,  retaining  it  until  1822  or  '23.  He  had  previously  taught 
the  school  at  the  corner  of  Red  Hook  and  Cornell's  lanes. 

"Among  those  who  introduced  this  delicious  grape  to  public  notice,  none  were 
nmiv  enthusiastic  or  practical  in  their  interest  than  Col.  Aides  Spooner,  editor  of  the 
Long  Island  Star.     In  1827,  he  planted  on  a  little  farm  which  he  had  purchased  at 


136  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Brooklyn  and  Long  Island,  but  even  into  far  distant  states  of  the 
Union. 

There  were,  also,  several  small  houses  erected  in  different 
fields  of  the  Hicks,  Middagh,  and  Johnson  estates ;  none  of  which 
however,  were  get-at-able,  except  by  paths  across  the  fields. 

Brooklyn  Heights. 

Thus  far  in  our  rambles  we  have  merely  skirted  around  the  old 
Clover  hill  farms  bounded  by  the  East  river,  the  Old  Ferry 
road  and  Joralemon's  lane,  without  intruding  upon  the  privacy 
with  which  its  few  landed  proprietors  shrouded  themselves.  We 
propose,  now,  to  examine  these  farms  in  order,  taking  our  course 
southwardly  from  Fulton  ferry. 

I.  The  Gary  Ludlow  estate  (Fig.  1,  Map  a,  see  also  Map  b), 
on  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Heights.  This  was  a  portion  of 
the  original  Horsfield  estate.  Mr.  Ludlow,  who  purchased  it  from 
the  Horsfields1  was  a  prominent  New  York  merchant,  and  was  not 
identified  with  Brooklyn,  except  by  residence  in  the  house  which 
he  erected  on  the  western  line  of  Willow  street,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  north  of  Middagh.1  The  only  access  to 
it  being  by  the  roundabout  way  of  the  Old  Ferry  road  and  Hicks 
street,    Mr,  Ludlow  secured  a  right  of  way  up  the  hillside,  from 

Valley  Grove *  fifty  French,  and  German  vines,  and  about  three  hundred  cut- 
tings of  the  Isabella  vine.  They  did  not  come  into  bearing  until  1831  —  the 
result,  as  to  the  foreign  varieties,  being  unsatisfactory,  but  the  Isabella  vines 
doing  splendidly ;  and  specimens  of  wine  made  therefrom  were  sent  to  amateurs, 
and  others  interested  in  grape  culture,  all  of  whom  pronounced  most  favorably 
on  its  merits.  The  yield  of  Col.  Spooner's  vineyard,  the  next  year,  1832,  was  abund- 
ant ;  and  during  the  same  year,  he  sold  ten  thousand  cuttings  of  the  Isabella  grape, 
to  Mr.  Wm.  R.  Underhill  and  his  brother,  Dr.  R.  T.  Underbill,  of  Croton  Point,  N.  Y., 
who  have  since  obtained  a  wide  reputation  in  the  cultivation  of  this  fruit. 

Col.  Spooner  subsequently  published  the  results  of  his  experience  in  the  grape 
culture,  in  a  little  work  of  great  simplicity  and  merit,  entitled  The  Cultivation  of 
American  Grape  Vines,  and  Making  of  Wine,  which  has  passed  through  two 
editions,  viz.,  1846  and  1858. 

1  Vol.  i,  74. 

1  This  was  formerly  the  Baisley  Farm,  on  the  hill  now  known  as  Battle  hill,  in  the  present 
Prospect  park. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  137 

Doughty  street,  through  the  old  Whalebone  gate,  at  the  corner 
of  Tommy  Event's  house. 

II.  The  Hicks'  estate,  and 

III.  The  Middagh  estate,  have  been  already  sufficiently  described 
in  our  first  and  second  walks  (pages  54  and  57),  and  by  Maps  a, 
and  b. 

IV.  The  Waring  Estate.  Adjoining,  and  running  in  the  same 
direction  with  the  southerly  line  of  the  Hicks  estate,  was  a  strip 
of  land,  its  western  end  on  the  river,  and  its  east  end  reaching 
nearly  to  Henry  street,  which  belonged,  at  the  time  of  which  we 
speak,  to  Mr.  Henry  Waring. 

This  excellent  gentleman  was  born  in  that  portion  of  New  York,  now 
known  as  Greenwich,  Conn.,  on  the  11th  of  October,  1773.  On  his  maternal 
side,  he  was  descended  from  an  ancient  Scotch  family,  the  Millingtons  —  his 
mother  being  the  daughter  of  Lady  Anne  Millington —  and,  on  his  father's 
side  he  came  from  an  old  North-of-Ireland  family.  His  father  served  with 
considerable  distinction  as  captain  of  an  artillery  company  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  being  mustered  out  of  service  at  Newburgh,  at  its  close. 
Henry  was  the  eldest  son  j  and  in  early  life,  left  his  parents,  came  to  New 
York,  and  engaged  himself  as  clerk  to  Bedient  &  Hubbell,  merchants,  near  the 
old  Fly  Market.  With  this  firm  he  continued  until  1793,  when  he  went  to 
sea,  and  subsequently  commanded  a  vessel,  owned  by  Folkert  Eden,  and 
engaged  in  trading  between  New  York  and  the  West  Indies.  In  1795,  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  a  French  sloop-of-war,  and  a  prize  crew  was  placed 
upon  his  vessel,  which  was  ordered  to  Martinique.  While  on  the  voyage 
thither,  he  and  a  man  named  Bills,  rose  upon  the  prize  crew,  retook  the 
vessel,  placed  the  crew  (seven  in  number)  in  the  forecastle,  and  steered  for 
the  island  of  Jamaica.  Unfortunately,  however,  when  within  ten  days  sail 
of  that  place,  he  was  spoken  and  boarded  by  a  Spanish  frigate.  The  suspi- 
cions of  the  boarding  officer  being  aroused  by  finding  the  vessel  in  the  hands 
of  only  two  men,  he  instituted  a  search  j  found  the  seven  Frenchmen  im- 
prisoned in  the  forecastle,  liberated  them  and  restored  to  them  the  possession 
of  the  vessel.  Waring  and  Bills  were  then  taken  to  the  island  of  Eustatia, 
and  were  there  imprisoned  for  several  months,  when  they  were  exchanged 
and  sent  to  New  York.  Soon  after  his  return,  a  privateer,  mounting  seven 
guns,  and  named  the  Adelia,  was  fitted  out  by  private  subscription  among 

'No.  8,  Map  of  Brookland  Ferry,  vol.  n,  p.  311.  This  house  is  still  standing,  in 
Pine-apple,  between  Willow  and  Columbia  streets. 

18 


138  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  merchants  of  New  York,  and  lie  was  placed  in  command.  His  first 
cruise  was  successful,  taking  one  or  two  prizes.  When  the  United  States 
navy  was  reorganized,  he  was  offered  a  commission,  but  declined  it,  because 
his  old  friend  and  messmate  (Commodore)  Chauncey  received  a  higher  posi- 
tion than  was  offered  to  himself.  He  then  formed  a  merchantile  partnership 
in  New  York  with  a  son  of  his  old  employer,  Eden,  and  transacted  business 
under  the  firm  style  of  Waring  &  Eden.  On  the  11th  of  February,  1796,  he 
was  married,  in  his  native  town,  to  Susan  Peck.  Soon  after  this,  his  partner 
Eden,  died,  and  he  then  engaged  in  business  with  Mr.  Grideon  Kimberly, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Kimberly  &  Waring.  From  him,  in  1806,  he  pur- 
chased the  property  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  before  alluded  to  (page  137),  and 
which  extended  from  the  river  up  to  the  Old  Fort,  and,  although  residing 
in  Frankfort  street  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he  and  his  family  passed  a  large 
portion  of  their  time  at  Brooklyn.  In  1813,  he  made  Brooklyn  his  perma- 
nent residence,  and,  with  his  partner,  became  largely  interested  in  the  naval 
store  business,  owning  many  vessels  in  the  southern  trade,  and  receiving  large 
consignments  of  southern  goods.  In  1826,  he  became  one  of  the  village  trus- 
tees, holding  the  position  also  in  1827,  '28,  '29  and  '30,  serving  the  public  inte- 
rest with  great  zeal  and  fidelity,  and  possessing  a  leading  influence  in  the 
board.  In  1832,  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  presidential  electors,  and  cast 
his  vote  for  Jackson.  In  1836  he  sold  his  property  upon  the  Heights  and 
purchased  the  property  bounded  by  Fulton,  Washington  and  Johnson  streets, 
upon  which  he  erected  a  residence.  He  was  one  of  the  first  directors  of  the 
Long  Island  Bank;  but,  in  1840,  having  lost  his  wife,  andbeing  about  to  retire 
from  business,  he  resigned  that,  and  also  his  connection  with  the  Brooklyn 
Savings'  Bank,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original  trustees.  About  this 
time,  being  deprived  of  the  companionship  of  his  wife,  he  became  depressed 
in  spirits  and  suffered  an  attack  of  paralysis,  which  induced  him  to  seek 
relief  by  a  trip  to  Europe.  On  his  return,  his  health  was  apparently  reesta- 
blished, but,  shortly  he  had  another  paralytic  stroke,  under  which  he  lingered 
for  over  a  year,  until  his  death,  at  his  residence  in  Fulton  street,  in  the 
year  1848. 

Mr.  Waring  was  short  in  stature,  possessed  a  very  robust  constitution, 
pleasant  and  genial  manners,  and  was  very  fond  of  social  enjoyments. 
Strictly  moral  and  conscientious  in  all  duties,  he  held  the  entire  confidence  of 
the  mercantile  community.  In  politics  he  was  an  old  line  democrat,  and  a 
member  of  the  first  regular  organized  republican  (as  they  were  then  called) 
society  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  out  of  which  the  present  Tammany 
Society  was  organized.     He  was  an  early  and  steadfast  friend  of  Gov.  DeWitt 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK  M  N.  139 

Clinton  ;  and.  fco  such  an  extent  did  lie  carry  his  friendship  for  him,  that  he 
was,  in  l>2-4,  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  organization  of  a  portion  of 
the  democratic  party  for  Gen.  Jackson  with  a  view  to  promote  Mr.  Clinton's 
preferment  thereby.  Jackson  and  Clinton  being  firm  friends,  the  latter  would 
probably,  had  he  lived,  have  been  secretary  of  state  under  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration. Mr.  Waring,  it  may  be  mentioned,  during  the  work  of  fortification 
in  181-4,  left  his  business  and  labored,  daily,  in  the  erection  of  Forts  Greene 
and  Swift.  He  had  the  following  children  :  Caroline,  Stephen,  Nathaniel 
F.,  John,   Charles,  Susan,  besides  several  who  died  in  early  youth. 

V.  Next  south  to  the  Waring  property,  was  the  Gideon  Kiwh  fly 
estate,  a  wedge  shaped  piece  of  land,  its  broadest  end  on  the 
river,  and  its  apex  reaching  the  Old  Fort  on  Henry  street. 

Gideon  Kimberly  was  born  in  Vermont,  in  the  year  1750;  and  in  1768 
came  to  New  York  city,  where  he  engaged  in  the  service  of  Messrs.  Bedient  & 
Hubbell,  merchants  in  the  Fly  Market  slip.  Mr.  Hubbell  died  about  1777, 
and  young  Kimberly  was  taken  into  partnership  by  Mr.  Bedient,  and  the 
busiuess  was  continued  under  the  firm  style  of  Bedient  &  Kimberly.  In 
1791  this  firm  was  dissolved,  and  a  new  one  formed  between  Mr.  Kimberly 
and  Henry  Waring,  under  the  firm  name  of  Kimberly  &  Waring,  the  busi- 
ness beiug  couducted  in  Burling  slip,  near  the  present  corner  of  Front  street, 
until  about  1813,  when  the  firm  style  was  changed  to  Kimberlys  &  Waring, 
by  taking  in  Mr.  David  Kimberly,  formerly  a  clerk  in  their  employ.  Mr. 
Gideon  Kimberly  married  Mary  Ferris,  of  Connecticut,  in  1792,  and,  in  1799 
she  died,  at  Brooklyn,  of  the  yellow  fever.  About  the  time  of  his  marriage 
he  settled  on  what  was  then  known  as  Clover  hill  in  Brooklyn,  upon 
property  which  he  purchased  from  the  executors  of  Noel   John  Barbarin. 

This  property,  which  was  the  old  Bamper  estate  (vol.  I,  308  and  309),  com- 
menced at  the  shore  opposite  to,  and  about  two  hundred  feet  south  of  the 
south-west  corner  of  Clarke  and  Columbia  streets,  and  extended  east  from  the 
river  to  the  Old  Fort,  at  Henry  street.  The  present  Mansion  House,  in 
Hicks  street,  stands  upon  a  portion  of  this  land.  The  Kimberly  house 
(probably  the  old  Bamper  mansion),  is  located  on  Map  B,  fig.  41.  Mr.  Kim- 
berly retired  from  business  in  1815,  and  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  at  the 
Tontine  Coffee  Heuse,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  while  conversing  with  his 
friend  Mr.  Butler,  the  editor  of  the  Mercantile  Advertiser,  in  February,  1817, 
aged  sixty-eight  years,  and  was  buried,  by  the  side  of  his  wife,  in  Greenwich, 
Conn.  He  was  a  regular  attendant  upon  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  in 
Brooklyn  ;  and,  although  a  man  of  the  world,  always  evinced  a  sincere  respect 


140  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

for  the  Christian  religion.  In  politics  Mr.  Kimberly  was  a  democrat  of  the 
Jeffersonian  school,  and  a  prominent  member  and  officer  of  the  Tammany 
Society,  in  New  York  city.  He  was  scrupulously  honest,  and  though  known 
as  a  close  business  man,  yet  was  humane  and  charitable.  Although  he  ac- 
cumulated by  his  industry  a  large  property,  yet  he  had  no  children,  and  his 
wealth  descended  to  heirs,  many  of  whom  he  had  never  seen,  or  even  heard 
of,  during  his  life.  After  his  death,  his  real  estate  in  Brooklyn  was  sold  in 
partition  in  the  court  of  chancery,  and  the  larger  portion  of  it  was  purchased 
by  his  neighbors,  Henry  Waring  and  Samuel  Jackson. 

VI.  The  next  estate  to  the  Kimberly  property,  was  that  belong- 
ing to 

Samuel  Jackson,  one  of  the  oldest  merchants  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
descended  from  an  ancient  English  family,  among  the  first  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  to  settle  on  Long  Island.  He  was  born,  about  1750,  near  Jerusalem, 
Queens  county,  and  his  eldest  sister  was  married  to  a  New  York  merchant,  by 
the  name  of  Milton,  with  whom  young  Jackson,  previous  to  the  Revolution, 
became  a  clerk.  About  1783,  Mr.  Milton  died,  leaving  his  entire  estate  in 
the  care  of  his  clerk  and  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Jackson.  A  few  months  after 
Mr.  Milton's  death,  his  widow  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  named  John 
Milton;  and  Jackson,  together  with  his  widowed  sister  and  her  infant, 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  where  he  purchased  a  house  and  grounds  upon  the 
Heights.  This  property  extended  in  width  from  the  Kimberly  line,  to  the 
north-easterly  side  of  Love  lane,  and  in  length  from  the  line  of  the  present 
Columbia  street  to  the  westerly  line  of  the  Swertcope  property,  which  was 
about  five  or  six  hundred  feet  from  Fulton  street  as  it  now  is.  Mr.  Jackson's 
lands  included  all  that  portion  of  the  Old  Fort  lying  north  of  Love  lane; 
and  he  was,  also,  the  owner  of  a  large  wharf  property  in  front  of  his  dwell- 
ing, known  as  Jackson's  Stores,  and  which  were  managed  by  George  Hicks. 
The  dwelling  house  (Map  b,  48)  which  he  occupied  was  a  stone  building, 
of  nearly  a  hundred  feet  front,  and  one  and  a  half  story  high,  with  a  low  roof. 
It  stood  on  the  west  line  of  the  present  Columbia  street,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  north  of  Pierrepont,  and  facing  the  river.  It  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  old  Timothy  Horsfield  house,  was  afterwards  occupied  for 
a  time  by  Gov.  Cadwallader  Colden,  probably  as  a  summer  residence,  and  was 
commonly  known  as  the  Old  Stone  House,  (see  page  309  of  first  volume). 
Although  its  age,  or  the  name  of  its  builder,  were  unknown  —  its  peculiarities 
of  architecture  and  finish  gave  indubitable  evidence  of  its  extreme  antiquity. 
It  had  four  entrances  —  two  in  front,  and  two  in  the   rear  —  each  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  141 

old  fashioned  half-doors,  the  upper  half  being  almost  invariably  open,  for 
Mr.  Jackson  was  a  strong  believer  in  ventilation.  These  doors  opened  into 
two  large  and  very  wide  halls,  from  which  the  old  platform  stair- 
ways rose  to  the  upper  story.  Here,  Mr.  Jackson,  with  his  sister 
as  housekeeper,  kept  bachelor's  hall  —  devoting  their  joint  attention  to 
the  education  of  the  young  John  Milton.  As  before  stated,  Mr.  Jackson 
had  succeeded  to  Mr.  Milton's  business,  and  successfully  carried  it  on  in 
South  street,  between  Burling  slip  and  Maiden  lane,  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  As  soon  as  his  nephew's  education  was  sufficiently  advanced,  he 
employed  him  as  a  clerk,  in  which  capacity  he  remained  until  about  1818, 
when  he  died  at  Mr.  Jackson's  house.  The  death  of  his  nephew  visibly 
affected  the  accustomed  cheerfulness  of  Mr.  Jackson's  character,  for  he  had 
intended  to  make  the  young  man  his  heir.  Shortly  after  young  Milton's 
death,  the  mother  died  also,  leaving  Mr.  Jackson  alone  in  the  old  mansion, 
with  none  to  keep  him  company,  except  his  two  servants  (formerly  his 
slaves),  Harry  and  Susannah  (Suke)  Havens.  Mr.  Jackson  now  turned 
his  attention  to  ornamental  gardening,  and  few  private  gardens  in  the  town 
were  so  attractive  as  his  —  a  walk  to  Clover  hill  and  Jackson's  garden 
being,  in  those  days,  the  favorite  walk  of  the  young  people  of  both 
sexes.  And,  to  protect  the  contents  of  his  garden,  when  any  person  entered 
it,  unaccompanied  by  himself,  his  "  man,  Harry,"  as  he  used  to  call  him, 
was  always  on  hand  to  see  that  none  of  the  ornamental  plants  were  dis- 
turbed. One  who  knew  Mr.  Jackson  says,  that  he  well  remembers  seeing 
cotton  balls  growing  in  this  garden.  About  the  year  1825  several  barrels 
of  cotton  were  distributed  in  Brooklyn,  and  almost  every  one  had  a  plant  in 
their  garden,  but  the  cold  weather  soon  killed  them. 

Here,  then,  Samuel  Jackson,  the  rich  old  bachelor,  lived  and  distributed 
his  hospitality  with  great  liberality,  until  about  the  year  1820,  when  his 
favorite  servant  Suke,  died,  and  he  shortly  after  broke  up  his  bachelor 
establishment  and  took  board  at  Morrison's  hotel,  which  was  situated  on  the 
present  north-west  corner  of  Columbia  and  Cranberry  streets.  His  house  he 
rented  to  John  Wells,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  New  York  bar, 
who  died  in  it,  of  the  yellow  fever,  in  the  year  1822.  After  Mr.  Wells's 
death,  it  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Thomas  March,  until  after  the  decease  of 
Mr.  Jackson,  which  took  place  at  Morrison's  hotel,  May  23d,  1832.1 

1  This  old  house  afterwards  became  the  asylum  for  some  aged  women,  gathered 
together  by  the  charitable  exertions  of  Mrs.  Pierrepont,  Mrs.  Richards,  and  other 
ladies  —  from  which  enterprise  finally  came  the  noble  institution,  known  as  The 
Church  Charity  Foundation. 


142  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

After  the  death  of  his  nephew,  John  Milton,  Mr.  Jackson  attended  per- 
sonally to  very  little  business,  in  consequence  of  a  diseased  liver,  from  which 
he  suffered  much.  He  maintained  his  office  and  business,  however,  in  New 
York,  and  employed  his  nephew,  Hamilton.  It  was  said  of  Mr.  Jackson 
that,  although  he  seldom  visited  the  city  of  New  York,  he  could  sit  in  his 
parlor,  and,  from  information  derived  from  the  New  York  newspapers,  of 
which  he  was  a  constant  reader,  he  could  direct  purchases  and  make  more 
money  than  any  merchant  in  that  city,  in  his  line  of  business,  which  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  grain,  naval  stores  and  cotton. 

Mr.  Jackson's  figure  was  straight,  nearly  six  feet  high,  and  of  about  three 
hundred  pounds  weight.  He  h  td  a  dark  sallow  complexion ;  dressed  with 
remarkable  neatness,  his  costume  being  fashioned  somewhat  after  the 
old  style  of  the  Society  of  Friends;  with  cue;  white  top  boots  in  cold 
weather;  shoes,  knee-buckles  and  shorts,  in  summer,  etc.  To  strangers, 
he  appeared  dignified  and  retiring,  made  but  few  intimate  friends,  and 
was  never  known  to  attend  a  public  meeting  of  any  description.  "With 
his  friends,  however,  no  man  was  more  social,  and  none  more  prudent  in 
his  habits.  Although  afflicted,  for  many  years  previous  to  his  death,  with  the 
liver  complaint,  he  never  complained,  but  took  his  daily  ride  in  his  coach  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  "  the  fellow,"  as  he  used  to  call  that  important  organ, 
a  proper  amount  of  exercise.  His  income  was  very  large,  and  he  contributed 
a  large  portion  of  it  to  private  charities,  believing  that  he  knew  best  how  to 
exercise  his  benevolence  j  and  though  somewhat  stern  in  his  dealings  with 
men,  he  was  always*  kind  and  considerate  to  children,  often  giving  them 
fruits,  etc.  After  breaking  up  housekeeping,  he  built  on  Love  lane,  a 
substantial  dwelling  for  his  body  servant,  Harry  Havens,  and  deeded  to  him 
the  land  upon  which  it  stood,  together  with  a  garden  plot.  He  rarely  rode 
out  without  calling  at  Harry's  to  see  if  he  needed  anything.  During  Mr. 
Jackson's  lifetime,  Harry,  who  possessed  the  manners  of  a  polished  gentle- 
man, maintained  a  very  respectable  position;  but  after  his  old  master's 
decease,  the  want  of  his  accustomed  advice  and  guidance  was  soon  felt,  and 
he  gradually  dissipated  his  property  until  his  death,  about  the  year  1858, 
when  he  was  buried  by  the  private  contributions  of  his  late  master's  friends, 
and  their  descendants. 

When  Forts  Greene  and  Swift  were  constructed,  in  1813,  Gen.  Johnson 
and  Col.  Decatur  called  upon  Mr.  Jackson  for  the  purpose  of  requesting 
from  him  assistance  in  that  important  and  patriotic  work,  although  with 
little  expectation  that  he  would  render  any  aid,  inasmuch  as  he  was  known 
to  be  affiliated  with  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  were  opposed  to  the  war. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  1  \:\ 

-  irprise  of  the  committee,  therefore,  when,  after  their  n 
had  beeD  made,  Mr.  Jackson  quietly  asked,  "  Well,  gentlemen,  how  much 

do  you  propose  to  '1"  towards  the  work  I  "     They  replied  that  they  should 
•rive  their  personal  services.     Whereupon  Mr.  Jackson  said.  ••  My  personal 

services    won't    amount  to  much,  but    I   will  do  my  part."  and    forthwith 
employed  six  men  at  his  own  expense,  to  work  on  the  forts  for  the  space 
of  three  months,  during  which  time  he  daily  visited  the  fortifications.  I 
that  they  did  their  work  properly. 

VLT.  Next  south  of  the  Jackson  property  was  a  tract  of  14  acres, 
extending  frorn  the  East  river  to  the  old  road  (Fulton  street)  add 
in  width  from  Love  lane,  to  a  line  a  little  north  of  the  present 
Pierrepont  street.  This  strip  of  land  was  owned  by  the  brothers 
Robert  and  John  De  Bevoise,  whose  grandfather  Jacobus  purchased 
it  from  JorisRemsen  in  1734. l 

Robert  the  elder  brother,  was  a  stout,  strong,  broad-faced  man ;  but 
baying,  unfortunately,  lost  his  nose  and  palate,  in  consequence  of  a  can- 
cerous disease  —  was.  although  really  of  a  kindly  disposition,  quite  an 
object  of  terror  to  the  village  urchins  —  which  was.  by  no  means,  lessened 
by  the  savage  disposition  of  twenty  or  thirty  dogs  which  he  kept  around  the 
house.  John  De  Bevoise  was  a  strong  contrast  to  his  brother  Robert  —  being 
thin,  pale  and  consumptive.  Both  were  bachelors,  and  being  well  off,  occupied 
their  time  alternately  in  fishing  and  gardening.  Their  dwelling,  a  small, 
ancient  and  rather  dilapidated  Dutch  edifice,  which  stood  on  the  line   of 

1  The  De  Bevoise  brothers  were  descended  from  Card  DeBeauvois,  an  immigrant 

from  Leyden.  Holland,  in  1659,  who  became  the  first  schoolmaster  in  Brooklyn,  and 

otherwise  notable  and  useful  in  the  town.     His  eldest-born.  Jacobus,  married  Maria, 

_  iter  of  Joost  Carelsz,  in  1G78,  and  their  third  son  Jacobus  married,  in  1715, 

Sarah,  daughter  of  Joris  Remsen,  the  owner,  at  that  time,  of  nearly  all  of  the  Heights 

(vol.  i.  pages  69-73),  and  who  conveyed  to  them.  August  15, 17:J4.  this  tract  of  14 

:i>on  which  they  afterwards  resided.     They  had  two  sons.  Jacobus,  who  died 

in  1751,  and  whose  only  daughter  Engeltie.  married  Isaac  Degraw,  of  Brooklyn  ; 

.  who  married  Sarah  Betts,  and,  on  his  father's  death,  in  1707,  inherited 

by  will  (  Wills,  liber  xxvr.  144).  his  whole  .-state.     George  himself  died  May  1. 17^:J. 

and  his  widow  Sarah,  in  1786.     No  will  being  found  or  proved,  it  was  supposed  to 

haw  been  burned  by  the  old  lady,  and  the  estate,  after  her  death,  came  into  the 

born  January  '2.1764;  John,  who   died  in  1821,  and   Sam.lt.  who 

parried,  in  1776,  William  Smyth,  had  a  boh  William,  born  in  1777,  and  died  herself 

in  17sD.     This  William,  Jr.,  in  1801,  released  to  his  uncles  Robert  and  John  De 

Beauvoise,  all  his  interest,  through  his  mother,  in  his  grandfather  George's  estate. 


144  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Columbia  street,  about  160  feet  north  of  the  line  of  Pierrepont  (Map  B,  49), 
was  graced  by  the  presence  of  an  exceedingly  beautiful  girl,  who  filled  the 
place  of  a  daughter  to  the  two  old  men,  whose  name  she  bore.  Sarah  De 
Bevoise,  had  many  admirers,  and  the  private  lane  which  led  down  to  the 
house,  between  the  De  Bevoise  and  Pierrepont  estates,  is  said  to  have  re- 
ceived its  name  of  Love  lane,  from  the  numerous  love-lines,  initials  of 
Miss  De  B.  and  her  love-lorn  swains,  which  were  scribbled  and  cut  upon 
its  fence  by  the  young  men  of  the  village.  She  was  much  petted  by  her 
aged  protectors,  who  built  for  her  especial  use  a  little  parlor  or  dolly- 
house  (Map  b.  50),  near  the  main  residence,  where  she  might  receive  her 
guests,  in  more  befitting  style  than  she  could  in  the  old-fashioned,  double- 
roomed  and  plainly-furnished  farm-house.  She  married  first  Mr.  Samuel 
Van  Buren,  and  after  his  death,  Mr.  Edward  McComber  (see  vol.  I,  308, 
note),  and  is  still  living  in  New  York  city. 

It  is  related  of  old  Bob  De  Bevoise  that  his  ground  was  enclosed  by  a 
high  board  fence;  and,  as  the  trees  were  thick  on  the  line  of  the  fence,  when 
the  posts  gave  away,  from  time  to  time,  he  nailed  the  boards  to  the  trees. 
But  the  winds  stirred  the  trees,  and  thereby  loosened  the  boards  again;  so 
that,  finally,  it  became  a  regular  Sunday  morning  job  with  Bob  to  nail 
up  his  fences,  and  his  neighbors,  without  reference  to  almanac,  could  always 
tell  when  sabbath  came,  by  the  continual  hammer,  hammer,  hammering  which 
resounded  along  the  line  of  partition.  To  Bob  De  Bevoise,  also,  belongs  the 
honor  of  first  gratifying  the  New  Yorkers  with  the  taste  of  garden  cultivated 
strawberries.  Previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  this  delicious 
fruit  had  been  known  to  the  New  York  market,  only  by  the  few  wild  berries 
which  were  brought  in  by  women  from  Tappan  and  New  Jersey.  But, 
about  1800-1802,  Robert  De  Bevoise  commenced  their  systematic  cultivation 
for  the  market,  sending  them  to  market  in  crockery  bowls,  at  two  shillings 
per  pint  bowl ;  and,  by  refusing  to  sell  any  of  his  plants  (people,  at  that  day, 
were  too  honest  to  steal  them)  secured,  and,  for  about  three  years,  retained 
the  monopoly  in  the  city.  He  then,  as  a  great  favor,  gave  some  of  his  plants 
to  old  Swertcope,  the  Hessian,  who  had  purchased  an  adjoining  farm,  and 
he,  too,  in  a  short  time  made  it  a  profitable  business.  The  cry  of  "  Hot 
Corn  I"  now  so  frequently  heard  on  summer  evenings  in  the  streets  of  Brook- 
lyn, is  associated  with  the  De  Bevoise  family.  Furman  says,  "  at  this  season 
of  the  year,  when  I  was  a  boy  of  about  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  (1807-8); 
in  the  evening,  an  old  colored  woman,  familiarly  known  as,  De  Bevoise's 
Black  Peg,  or  rather  Margaret,  or  Peggy,  the  slave  of  Robert  De  Bevoise, 
made  her  appearance  in  the  main  street,  then  called  the  Old  Ferry  road, 


history  OF  BBOOKL1  N.  |  \:, 

■OH  Fulton  street,  crying  ;  Hot  coru,  nice  hot  corn!  piping  hotl1  This 
wa>  the  cry  of  Peg,  for  a  time;  until  corn  getting  a  little  too  tough  from  the 
ripening  effects  of  the  sun  (for  then  we  did  not  have  green  corn  all  the 
summer  through,  coming,  as  it  now  does,  from  the  West  Indies  and  the  south, 
in  the  latter  part  of  May  and  June,  and  from  the  north  in  September,  but 
we  had  to  depend  alone  upon  what  was  raised  in  King's  county),  and  the 
(purge  bell  pears  having  attained  nearly  their  full  size,  she  stewed  them  whole 
until  the}  were  soft,  and  then  poured  molasses  over  them  while  they  were 
hot,  and  carried  them  through  the  streets  as  "  baked  pears,"  and  very 
palateable  they  were,  as  I  well  recollect;  but  this  cry  has  gone  out  of  vogue; 
I  have  not  heard  it  for  years."  The  selling  of  hot  corn  and  baked  pears 
were  the  perquisites  of  Black  Peg.  In  his  later  jottings,  Furman  says, 
under  date  of  1836,  that  he  has  noticed  corn  sold  for  some  five  or  six 
days  past,  iu  the  streets  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  especially  in  the 
eveniugs,  and  principally  by  negroes.  He  especially  mentions  a  negro  ;'  whose 
stand  is  about  the  Fulton  market,  New  York,  has  quite  a  rhyme  for 
selling  his  articles,  which  I  have  so  frequently  heard,  as  to  remember  : 

"  Hot  corn]!  hot  corn !  I  have  to  sell, 
Come  buy  my  corn,  I'll  treat  you  well, 
My  corn  is  good  and  that  I  know, 
For  on  Long  Island  it  did  grow." 

and  adds  that  "  Long  Island  is  famous  for  the  best  green  corn  in  the  New 
York  market." 

When,  in  1816,  the  village  was  incorporated,  and  streets  and  lots  began 
to  be  plotted  over  the  old  farm  lines,  Robert  De  Bevoise  took  alarm,  and 
expressed  a  determination  to  move  out  of  the  reach  of  the  modern  improve- 
ments. Hearing  of  this,  his  next  neighbor,  Mr.  Hez.  B.  Pierrepont,  inquired 
his  price,  and,  828,000  being  named,  immediately  accepted  the  offer,  much 
to  old  Bob's  astonishment,  who  supposed  he  had  placed  it  at  so  high  a 
figure  that  no  one  would  buy.1  He  continued  to  reside  on  the  place,  how- 
ever, for  two  years  after  the  sale,  and  then  removed  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Black  Horse  tavern,  and  built  a  dwelling,  still  standing,  and  known  as 
the  Abbey,  in  Fulton  avenue. 

Soon,  however,  streets  and  houses  made  their  distasteful  appearance  in 
the  vicinity,  and  he  "  pulled  up  stakes  "  and  settled  at  Bedford.  Again  the 
city  jostled  him,  and,  in  despair,  he  fled  to  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  where  he  died 
some  years  after. 

1  Mr.  Pierrepont's  diary,  under  date  of  April  loth,  1816,  records  "  Bought  of  Robert 
De  Bevoise,  his  farm  next  mine,  for  $28,000." 

19 


146  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

VHT.  Next  came  the  Pierrepont  property;  which,  including  the 
above  named  De  Bevoise  farm,  comprised  a  tract  of  sixty  acres, 
between  Love  lane  and  the  line  of  the  present  Remsen  street,  and 
extending  from  the  East  river  to  the  Old  Ferry  road,  now  Fulton 
street. 

This,  together  with  the  De  Bevoise,  Eemsen  and  Joralemon 
farms,  originally  formed  the  estate  of  Joris  Remsen,  who  purchased 
it  in  1706,  from  his  father-in-law,  Dirck  Janse  Woertman,  who 
had  consolidated  the  titles  of  the  ancient  Hudde,  Manje  and  Ruyter 
patents,  described  on  pages  70-73  of  our  first  volume.  This  Joris 
Remsen,  iu  1734,  sold  to  his  son-in-law,  Jacobus  De  Bevoise,  the 
fourteen  acres  known  as  the  De  Bevoise  farm. 

The  remainder  of  Joris  Remsen's  land  was  inherited  by  his 
son  Rem,  who  died  in  or  about  1724,  leaving  among  other  child- 
ren, a  son  George  (or  Joris),  who  fell  heir  to  the  paternal  estate, 
married  Jane,  daughter  of  Philip  Nagle,  and  died  between  1735 
and  '43,  leaving  issue,  Rem,  Philip  and  Aletta.  On  the  19th  of 
June,  1753,  {Kings  County  Records,  liber  vi,  174),  Philip  Remsen 
described  as  then  of  Bucks  county,  Pa.,  together  "with  Philip 
Nease,  Esq.,  of  Flatbush,  only  surviving  executor  of  his  father's 
estate,"  conveyed  \o  Henry  and  Peter  Remsen,  merchants,  of  New 
York  city,  for  the  sum  of  £1,060,  one-half  (estimated  at  fifty-seven 
acres)  of  the  original  property  purchased  by  his  great-grandfather, 
Joris  Remsen,  from  Woertman,  and  bounded  easterly  by  the  lands 
of  Jacobus  De  Bevoise,  and  southerly  by  those  of  Johannes 
Johnson,  and  westerly  by  those  of  Isaac  Sebring.  The  above 
named  brothers,  Henry  and  Peter  Remsen,  at  some  time  prior  to 
1764,  sold  to  Philip  Livingston,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  that  portion 
of  the  estate  lying  between  the  present  Joralemon  and  Atlantic 
streets,  and  extending  from  the  East  river  to  Red  Hook  lane.1 
On  the  first  of  August,  1768,  the  Remsen  brothers  divided  between 
them  the  remainder  of  the  property  —  Hendrik  taking  the  northerly 
half,  adjoining  the  De  Bevoise  farm,  and  Peter  taking  the 
southerly  portion  next  to  the  Livingston  farm,  from  which  it  was 
separated  by  a  lane  since  known  as  Joralemon  street.2 

1  See  vol.  i,  p.  73,  304,  305.    a  Liber  vi,  181,  Kings  County  Records;  also  p.  177. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  147 

A  portion  of  the  Hendrick  Remsen  farm  came  into  possession 
of  John  Cornell,  who  built,  at  foot  of  present  Montague  sti 

the  main  portion  of  the  edifice  described  on  page  307  of  first 
volume,  as  the  Cornell-Pierrepont  mansion.  George  Powers 
afterwards  purchased  the  place,  and  in  1795  sold  it  again  to  James 
Anion,  who  added  wings  to  the  house,  and,  in  May,  1804,  sold 
it  to  Mr.  Benson,  from  whom  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Hezekiah 
B.  Pierrepont,  who,  in  1802,  had  become  the  owner  of  the  old 
Livingston  distillery,  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon  street  near  by. 

Eezekiah  Beers    Pierrepont  was  bora  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,   3d 
November.  1768.  and  was  grandson  of  the  Rev.  James  Pierrepont,  the  first 
minister  settled  in  that  colony.     Part  of  the  town  plat  apportioned  to  him 
in  1684,  has  ever  since  belonged  to  the  family  and  been  occupied  by  them. 
The  father  of  the  Rev.  James  Pierrepont  belonged  to  the  family  of  Holme 
Pierrepont   in    Nottinghamshire,    England,    descendants   from    Robert   de 
Pierrepont  of  Normandy.     He  came  to  America  about  the  year  1640  with 
his  younger  brother  Robert,  as  tradition  says,  merely  to  visit  the   country, 
but  married  and  settled  near  Boston,  where  he   purchased  three  hundred 
acres,  now  the  site  of  Roxbury  and  part  of  Dorchester.     The  family  na  ue 
being  French,  became  anglicized  in  this  country  and  spelt  Pierpont.     The 
correct  spelling  was  resumed  by  the  subject  of  this  memoir  in  signing  his 
will.     He  displayed  at  an  early  age  an  enterprising  spirit,  and  fondness  for 
active  life.     While  at  college,  he  became  dissatisfied  with  the  study  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  and  the  prospect  of  a  professional  life.     He   proposed  to  his 
father  that  if  he  would  permit  him  to  leave  his  studies,  he  would  provide 
for  himself,  and  ask  no  share  of  his  estate.     His  father  consented,  and  he 
fulfilled  his  promise,  and  thereafter  provided  for  his  own  support.     To  ob- 
tain a  knowledge  of  business,  he  first  entered  the  office  of  his  uncle,  Mr. 
Isaac  Beers,  in  New  Haven ;  and,  afterwards,  to  extend   his  knowledge  of 
commercial  affairs,  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  the  Custom  House,  in  New  York. 
He   then  associated  himself  with   Messrs.   Watson    &    Greenleaf,    and  en- 
gaged, as  their  agent,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  purchase  of  the  national  debt, 
realizing  thereby,  in  a  short  time,  a  small   fortune.     In  1793,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  his  cousin,  William  Leffiugwell,  and  established  in  New 
York,  the  commercial  house  of  Leffiugwell  &  Pierrepont,  engaging  in  shipping 
provisions  to  France,  where  scarcity  prevailed  in  consequence  of  the  Revolu- 
tion.    He   removed  to  France,  to  attend  to  the  shipments  of  his  firm,  and 
resided  in  Paris,  during  the  reign  of  terror,  and  saw  Robespierre  beheaded. 


148  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  seizure  of  American  vessels,  carrying  provisions  to  France,  by  England, 
then  at  war  with  France,  so  embarrassed  this  trade,  that  he  relinquished  it, 
and  in  1795,  purchased  in  England,  a  fine  ship  named  the  Confederacy, 
and  went  on  a  trading  voyage  to  India  and  China,  as  owner  and  supercargo, 
Captains  Scott,  Jenks,  and  James  Goodrich,  conducting  the  ship.  On  his 
return  voyage  in  1797,  with  a  valuable  cargo,  his  ship  was  seized  by  a 
French  privateer,  condemned  and  sold,  for  want  of  a  role  d 'equipage, 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  nations,  and  our  treaty  stipulations.  After  tedious 
legal  proceedings  in  England,  he  recovered  part  of  his  insurance,  and  was 
on  the  eve  of  succeeding  in  France,  in  his  reclamations  against  the  govern- 
ment, when  the  United  States  made  a  treaty  with  France,  by  the  terms  of 
which  each  government  agreed  to  assume  the  claims  of  its  own  citizens. 
To  the  disgrace  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  this  claim,  which 
is  one  of  the  class  known  as  claims  for  French  spoliations  prior  to  1800, 
has  never  yet  been  paid.  These  claims  have  been  ever  since  before  congress, 
and  advocated  by  the  best  men  among  its  early  and  its  present  members. 
Twenty-one  reports  have  been  made  in  favor,  and  none  adverse  j  and  bills 
for  payment  have  been  twice  passed  by  both  houses,  which  were  vetoed,  on 
frivolous  grounds,  by  Presidents  Tyler  and  Polk. 

After  an  absence  abroad,  of  seven  years,  Mr  Pierrepont  returned  in  1800 
to  New  York.  He  married,  in  1802,  Anna  Maria,  daughter  of  William 
Constable,  a  distinguished  merchant,  and  the  largest  owner  of  wild  land  in 
the  state  of  New  York.  Considering  foreign  commerce,  in  the  then  disturbed 
political  state  of  Europe,  too  hazardous,  he  abandoned  it.  He  visited  New 
England  to  examine  into  its  manufactories,  and  finding  distilling  of  gin  very 
profitable,  he  engaged  Colonel  James  Anderson,  of  Connecticut,  to  establish 
a  factory  for  him.  In  1802,  he  purchased  in  Brooklyn,  the  brewery  belong- 
ing to  Philip  Livingston,  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon  street,  which  had  been 
burnt  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and,  there  established  his  factory, 
which  obtained  a  high  reputation.  It  was  at  that  time  £he  only  manufactory 
of  the  kind  in  the  state,  and  proved  to  be  very  profitable.  His  attention 
being  thus  drawn  to  Brooklyn,  he  purchased  on  the  Heights,  the  Benson 
farm  and  spacious  residence,  and  removed  to  it.  He  subsequently  bought 
the  adjoining  farm  of  Robert  De  Bevoise,  and  also  part  of  the  Remsen  farm, 
making  a  tract  of  sixty  acres,  having  a  front  of  eight  hundred  feet  on  the 
East  river,  and  extending  back,  between  Love  lane  and  Remsen  street,  about 
half  a  mile  to  Fulton  street. 

The  success  of  his  factory  induced  competition  and  diminished  its  profits ; 
he  thereupon,  in  1819,  abandoned  it,  and  thereafter  gave  his  whole  attention 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  1  |-,i 

to  the  improvement  of  his  Brooklyn  property,  and  the  settlement  of  his 
wild  land,  amounting  to  nearly  half  a  million  of  acres  situated  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  state,  in  the  counties  of  Oswego,  Jefferson,  Lewis,  St.  Law- 
renoe  and  Franklin.  During  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he  spent  part  of 
every  summer  in  visiting  these  lands,  in  company  with  his  two  sons,  William 
and  Henry,  whom  he  had  educated  with  special  reference  to  their  manage- 
ment. 

He  foresaw,  at  this  early  period,  the  future  growth  of  Brooklyn,  which 
was  then  mainly  owned  in  farms  by  market  gardeners,  or  occupied  for  country 
residences.  He  was  one  of  a  committee  in  1815,  who  framed  and  procured 
the  act  for  incorporating  Brooklyn  as  a  village,  and  he  afterwards  served  as 
one  of  the  trustees.  The  legislature  having  passed  an  act  for  laying  out 
streets  in  the  village,  Mr.  Pierrepont  gave  his  exertions  and  influence  to 
have  a  proper  plan  adopted.  He  procured  Mr.  Poppleton,  a  distinguished  city 
surveyor,  at  his  private  expense,  to  make  a  plan,  suggesting  wider  streets  and 
larger  blocks,  instead  of  the  narrow  streets  and  one  acre  blocks  of  two  hun- 
dred feet  square  recommended  to  the  trustees  j  and  succeeded  in  getting  bis 
plan  adopted  for  that  part  of  the  Heights  south  of  Clark  street.  In  order 
to  widen  Hicks  street,  between  Cranberry  and  Clark  streets,  and  stop  the 
extension  of  leasehold  property  and  poor  buildings  of  wood,  he  engaged  Mr. 
Joel  Bunce  to  purchase  for  him,  from  the  Messrs.  Hicks,  that  part  of  their 
property.  He  then  widened  the  street  as  far  as  Cranberry  street,  by  re- 
stricting the  purchasers  to  a  building  line.  With  a  liberal  public  spirit,  he 
voluntarily  removed  his  fence  on  Fulton  street,  widening  the  street  without 
compensation,  while  he  was  afterwards  heavily  assessed  for  the  widening 
of  the  same  street  towards  Fulton  ferry.  In  laying  out  Pierrepont  street, 
he  adopted  a  building  line  making  the  width  of  the  street  between  the  houses 
eighty  feet,  and  Montague  and  Remsen  streets,  seventy-six  feet. 

An  intimacy  commenced  in  Europe  with  Robert  Fulton,  was  continued 
during  the  too  short  life  of  this  public  benefactor.  A  son,  Robert  Fulton 
Pierrepont,  named  after  him,  died  in  1814.  Mr.  Pierrepont  aided  Mr.  Ful- 
ton with  his  advice  and  influence  in  the  establishment  of  Fulton  ferry,  and 
always  took  great  interest  in  the  improvement  of  this,  the  main  portal  of 
Brooklyn.  He  subscribed  towards  the  purchase  of  this  ferry,  from  the 
assigns  of  Fulton,  in  whose  hands  it  was  not  conducted  with  due  regard  to 
Brooklyn  interests,  and  continued  one  of  its  directors,  till  his  death.  In 
the  years  1827  and  1828  Mr.  Pierrepont  served,  with  ability,  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  village  trustees.  As  chairman  of  the  street  committee, 
he  exerted  himself  to  secure  an   open   promenade   for  the  public,   on  the 


150  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Heights,  from  Fulton  ferry  to  Joralemon  street.  He  had  a  map  and  plan 
drawn  for  the  improvement  by  Mr.  Silas  Ludlam,  and  procured  the  consent 
of  the  proprietors  for  a  cession  of  the  property,  except  from  his  neighbor 
and  friend  Judge  Kadcliff,  who  opposed  the  scheme  so  violently,  that  Mr. 
Pierrepont,  rather  than  have  a  contest  with  a  friend,  withdrew  from  the 
attempt,  and  paid  himself  the  expenses  incurred  for  the  survey  and  plan, 
though  he  had  ordered  it  officially.  He  lived  and  died  in  the  belief  and 
desire,  that  the  Heights  would  some  day  be  made  a  public  promenade,  on 
some  similiar  plan.  Before  his  estate  was  divided  and  sold,  his  executors 
gave  the  opportunity  to  the  city  to  take  the  property  between  Love  lane 
and  Remsen  street  and  Willow  street,  the  only  part  of  the  Heights  that 
remained  unoccupied,  for  such  a  public  place,  and  a  petition  was  signed  by  a 
few  public  spirited  men  for  the  object.  But  it  was  defeated  before  the  city 
authorities  by  overwhelming  remonstrances,  very  generally  signed  in  the 
large  district  of  assessment  that  was  proposed. 

It  appears  from  his  diary,  that  as  early  as  the  year  1818,  he  made  inquiry 
as  to  the  cost  of  stone  wharves.  He  reluctantly  improved  his  water  front 
with  timber,  when  he  found  from  the  depth  of  water  the  cost  of  stone  struc- 
tures was  too  great,  to  be  warranted  by  the  small  income  derived  by  wharf 
owners  under  our  present  port  laws. 

Mr.  Pierrepont  persistently  declined  to  sell  his  lots,  except  where  good 
private  dwellings  of  brick  or  stone,  were  engaged  to  be  erected,  suited  to 
the  future  character  of  his  finely  situated  property.  Though  he  did  not 
live  long  enough  to  realize  fully  his  anticipations — time  has  now  proved  the 
soundness  of  his  judgment.1  His  property  is  now  covered  by  elegant 
mansions,  besides  five  fine  churches,  the  City  Hall,  Academy  of  Music, 
Mercantile  Library,  and  other  public  buildings,  while  the  front  on  the 
bay  is  occupied  by  extensive  wharves  and  warehouses. 

*Mr.  Pierrepont  was  informed  that  Messrs.  P.  &  A.  Schermerhorn  were  intending  to 
buy  that  portion  of  the  Remsen  estate,  between  the  site  of  the  present  City  Hall  and 
Clinton  street  (which  street  was  then  laid  out  on  the  village  map),  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  thereon  a  ropewalk.  Resolved  to  check  an  enterprise,  which  he  knew 
would  seriously  affect  the  future  healthy  growth  of  the  village,  as  well  as  the  value 
of  surrounding  property,  he  immediately  petitioned  the  trustees  for  laying  out  a 
street,  from  Pierrepont  to  Joralemon  streets ;  across  the  site  of  the  proposed  rope- 
walk,  and  which  he  named  Moser  street,  in  compliment  to  the  excellent  Joseph 
Moser,  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  His  request  was  granted,  and  Moser 
street,  as  laid  down  upon  the  village  map  —  was  opened,  and  although  since  closed, 
served  to  spoil  the  designs  of  the  Messrs.  Schermerhorn,  who  were  forced  to  purchase 
property  between  State  and  Atlantic  streets,  on  which  (about  on  line  of  Schermerhorn 
street),  they  erected  a  very  extensive  ropewalk. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  151 

Mr.  Pierrepont  possessed  great  energy  of  character,  and  a  sound  judgment. 
lie  was  domestic  in  his  habits,  and  had  no  ambition  for  public  office,  or 
relish  for  political  life.  At  the  early  organization  of  the  village,  and  of  the 
city  of  Brooklyn,  when  his  services  were  deemed  important,  he  gave  them 
freely  to  his  fellow  citizens,  in  aid  of  their  local  affairs.  He  retained  his 
energy  and  his  activity,  and  died  in  1838,  after  a  short  illness  of  an  inflamma- 
tory attack,  aged  seventy  years,  leaving  a  widow,  two  sons  and  eight  daughters. 
His  widow  died  in  1859. 

We  add  a  list  of  the  children  of  Mr.  Pierrepont,  to  whom  his  Brooklyn 
property  has  descended  :  William  Const <ible  Pierrepont,  residing  at  Pierre- 
pont manor,  Jefferson  county ;  Henri/  Evdyn  Pierrepont,  residing  in 
Brooklyn;  Anna  Constable  Pierrepont,  married  Hubert  Van  Wagenen, 
died  1839,  leaving  a  son  of  the  same  name;  Emily  Constable  Pierrepont^ 
who  married  Joseph  A.  Perry;  Frances  Matilda  Pierrepont,  who  married 
Rev.  Frederick  S.  Wiley ;  Mary  Montague  Pierrepont,  who  died  in  1853, 
unmarried  ;  Harriet  Constable  Pierrepont,  married  Edgar  J.  Bartow,  died 
1855 ;  Maria  Theresa  Pierrepont,  who  married  Joseph  J.  Bicknell ;  Julia 
Evelyn  Pierrepont,  married  John  Constable,  of  Constableville;  Ellen  Isaphine, 
married  Dr.  James  M.  Minor. 


On  the  beach  under  the  Heights,  in  front  of  the  mansion,  was  a 
dock,  accessible  from  the  house  by  means  of  a  pathway,  with  two 
or  three  flights  of  stone  steps,  leading  down  the  face  of  the  bluff. 
At  this  dock  always  lay  a  row  boat,  which  was  Mr.  Pierrepont's 
ordinary  means  of  travel  to  and  from  New  York.  Aside  from 
this  road  along  the  beach  (now  Furman  street),  the  only  way  to 
reach  the  village  from  his  residence,  was  by  a  private  lane, 
which  opened  upon  the  Old  Ferry  road  (Fulton  street),  close  by 
Larry  Brower's  tavern  (ante,  86). 

On  the  corner  of  Pierrepont  and  Henry  streets,  Mr.  Thomas 
March,  previously  alluded  to,  page  141,  of  the  firm  of  March  &  Ben- 
son, the  principal  wine  merchants  of  New  York,  at  that  day, 
built  a  residence,  about  1833.  The  old  gentleman's  favorite  daily 
walk  was  along  the  front  of  the  Heights,  and  lovingly  and  en- 
thusiastically was  he  wont  to  praise  the  beauty  of  the  place  and 
the  splendid  prospect,  which  was  there  unfolded  to  the  eye  of 
the  spectator.  And,  amid  the  beauties  of  nature  which  he  so 
thoroughly  appreciated,  the  angel  of  death  finally  met  him,  as 


152  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

he  Was  taking  his  morning  walk  —  his  lifeless  corpse  being  found 
in  front  of  the  Pierrepont  residence.1 

IX.  Between  Mr.  Pierrepont's  southerly  line  and  the  present 
Joralemon  street,  was  the  remainder  of  the  Remsen  estate,  owned 
by  Peter  Remsen.2  After  his  death,  Maj.  Fanning  C.  Tucker, 
Robert  Carter,  Adam  Treadwell  and  Mr.  Pierrepont  purchased 
that  portion  nearest  the  river,  and  bounded  by  Joralemon,  Clin- 
ton and  Remsen  streets;  which  streets  were  laid  out  and  named 
by  Mr.  Pierrepont.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  estate,  that 
bounded  by  Clinton,  Joralemon  and  the  Old  Road  (Fulton  street), 
was  retained  by  Henry  Remsen  and  his  sister  Matilda,  children 
of  Peter.     The  most  easterly  extremity  of  their  land  was  pur- 

1  The  Pierrepont  mansion  we  have  already  described,  by  pictures  as  well  as  words, 
on  page  307  of  our  first  volume.  It  was  a  very  large  building  of  144  feet  front,  and 
furnished  in  a  style  of  substantial,  yet  modest  elegance,  characteristic  of  its  owner's 
tastes.  Among  its  household  treasures  we  may  mention  the  celebrated  original  por- 
trait of  Washington,  painted  by  Stuart,  for  Mr.  Constable  (Mr.  Pierrepont's  father- 
in-law),  and  which  now  adorns  the  elegant  mansion  of  Mr.  Henry  E.  Pierrepont  on 
the  corner  of  Pierrepont  street  and  Place. 

In  Mr  Hezekiah  B.  Pierrepont's  day,  the  place  was  well  stocked  with  the  rarest 
and  choicest  varieties  of  peaches,  apples,  plums,  cherries,  apricots,  etc.,  which  had 
originally  been  planted  there  by  Mr.  Arden,  an  Englishman,  the  former  owner  of 
the  property,  Mr.  Pierrepont,  also  took  great  pleasure  in  horticultural  pursuits,  and 
his  garden  was  remarkable  for  the  number  of  its  rare  and  beautiful  plants  and 
flowers,  to  which  he  was  constantly  adding  by  purchase  and  by  exchange  with  gen- 
tlemen of  similar  tastes  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  From  Lord  Bolingbroke,  an 
English  nobleman,  who  had  come  to  America  and  then  resided  near  Elizabeth,  N.  J., 
in  the  old  Gov.  Livingston  house,  he  procured  the  first  plant  of  the  sea  kale  (Crambe 
maritima)  ever  seen  in  Brooklyn.  Mr.  Pierrepont's  gardener,  James  Wilson,  was  a 
thoroughly  educated  man,  who  afterwards  became  a  partner  with  Mr.  Buell  in  esta- 
blishing an  extensive  garden  and  nursery  near  Albany,  N.  Y.  This  Wilson,  prior  to 
leaving  England  had  surreptitiously  obtained,  at  some  agricultural  fair,  some  of  the 
seed  of  the  dahlia,  then  an  unknown  plant  in  America,  and  some  of  these  seed  he 
planted  in  Mr.  Pierrepont's  garden.  Dr.  Hosack,  the  celebrated  physican  and  botan- 
ist of  New  York  city,  some  time  after  was  bragging  over  a  dahlia  which  he  then 
possessed,  and  which  he  considered  the  only  one  in  the  country.  He  was  greatly  sur- 
prised and  somewhat  chagrined  to  find  the  plant  well  domesticated  in  Mr.  Pierre- 
pont's garden.  It  may  be  mentioned,  while  we  are  talking  about  these  matters,  that 
Commodore  Chauncey,  about  1812,  introduced  here  the  fine  Lima  bean,  in  the  gar- 
den attached  to  his  garden  at  the  Navy  Yard. 

2  Ante,  page  146,  last  sentence. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  158 

chased  as  a  site  for  the  City  Hall;  and,  finally,  they  sold  out  all 
the ir  property  in  Brooklyn. 

The  old  Remsen  mansion,  of  which  we  have  given  the  history 
on  page  73  of  our  first  volume,  is  still  standing  as  Nos.  2  and  4 
Joralemon  street  near  Furman.1  The  well  belonging  to  the  old 
house  is  still  in  existence,  under  the  baptismal  font  of  Grace 
church;  and,  we  believe  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Yinton  once  endeavored 
to  provide  from  this  well  the  water  needed  at  baptismal  services, 
but  the  plan  failed  to  work  properly. 

The  Heights,  at  that  day,  were  beautifully  shaded,  and  at  the 
southern  extremity  (above  the  present  corner  of  Joralemon  and 
Furman  streets,  where  Mrs.  Packer's  house  now  stands),  was  a 
large  grove,  with  ravines  leading  down  to  the  shore  beautifully 
shaded  with  cedars.  This  was  called  Lover's  or  Hymen's 
grove. 

Under  the  cliff,  stood  the  Old  Ferry  house,  occupying  nearly 
the  same  site  as  the  old  Eagle  tavern,  memorable  in  Brooklyn 
history,  in  connection  with  the  murder  of  young  George  Phelps, 
in  1840,  of  which  a  full  account,  from  the  pen  of  Judge  N. 
B.  Morse,  will  be  found  in  the  Corporation  Manual  of  Brooklyn 
for  1865.  A  liquor  store  stands  now  on  the  same  spot,  the  north- 
east corner  of  Furman  and  Joralemon  streets. 

This  brings  us  to  Joralemon's  lane,  before  described  as  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Heights  proper. 


Walk  the  Fourth,  down  Bed  Hook  lane  to  Bed  Hook;  and 
thence,  along  the  river  side,  to  Joralemon's  lane. 

Our  next  excursion  will  be  in  the  direction  of  Red  Hook  and 
the  numerous  old  tide  mills  situated  among  the  marsh  meadows 
of  Gowanus  creek,  together  with  the  farms  lying  along  the  East 
river,  between  Red  Hook  and  the  southerly  termination  of  the 
Heights  at  Joralemon's  lane.  This  district,  forming  what  is  now 
known  as  South  Brooklyn,  we  reach  by  means  of  Bed  Hook  lane, 

12iot  Furnian  near  Joralemon,  as  incorrectly  stated  on  page  73  of  first  volume. 
20 


154  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

previously  mentioned  as  diverging  from  the  southerly  side  of  the 
Brooklyn  and  Flatbush  and  Jamaica  turnpike  (Fulton  avenue), 
a  little  east  of  Du  Flon's  Military  Garden.  This  Red  Hook  lane 
seems  to  have  been  laid  out,  according  to  record,  on  the  6th  of  June, 
1760;  appears  upon  Ratzer's  Map  (1766-67)  and  all  subsequent 
maps ;  and,  although  mostly  swallowed  up  by  the  growth  of  the 
city,  a  remnant  still  survives,  between  Fulton  avenue  and  Livings- 
ton street,  and  is  particularly  noticeable  as  containing  the  modest 
retreat  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Entering  this  lane,  therefore,  we  pass  on  the  west  the  old 
Potter's  field  (vol.  i,  394,  note),  and  along  Judge  Joralemon's  land 
until  we  reach,  at  about  the  junction  of  the  present  Court  and 
Pacific  streets,  a  very  considerable  conical-shaped  hill  —  Ponkies- 
bergh,  or  Cobble  hill  of  Revolutionary  memory  —  rearing  itself 
above  the  surrounding  cornfields.  Not  far  from  its  base  was  a 
ghost-haunted  spot,  about  which  dreadful  stories  were  whispered 
(vol.  i,  252,  note  1),  which  lent  wTings  to  the  feet  of  such  unwary 
village  urchins  as  chanced  to  pass  it  after  dark.  Passing,  in  a 
westerly  direction,  around  and  along  the  base  of  this  hill,  for 
about  three  hundred  feet,  Red  Hook  lane  again  turned  south- 
wardly. Just  at  the  angle  of  this  turn,  on  the  west  side,  com- 
menced the  private  road,  or  lane  called  Patchen's  lane,1  which  led 
down  to  Ralph  Patchen's  house,  near  the  foot  of  the  present 
Atlantic  street.  Upon  the  incorporation  of  the  village,  in  1816, 
this  lane  was  absorbed  by  District  street,  which  followed  the  same 
course  and  became  the  southern  boundary  of  the  village.  Dis- 
trict street,  in  turn,  merged  its  identity  in  Atlantic  street.  Pass- 
ing along  Red  Hook  lane,  through  Patchen's  land,  we  come  to 
another  private  road  diverging  from  its  easterly  side,  and  known 
as  Freeke's  lane  or  the  Mill  road.  From  its  entrance  on  Red  Hook 
lane,  on  line  of  Court  street  between  East  Warren  and  East 
Baltic,  it  ran  southerly,  to  the  mills  of  John  C.  Freeke  and 
ISTehemiah  Denton,  thence  to  Gowanus.  All  of  which  will  be 
found  more  fully  described  in  our  sixth  walk. 

lrThis  was  originally  a  road,  three  rods  wide,  running  down  to  a  public  landing 
place,  six  rods  long,  at  low  water  mark,  at  foot  of  what  was  first  District,  and  now  is 
Atlantic  street.     This  public  road  and  landing  place  was  laid  out  April  7th,  1714. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  N.  ]:,:, 

Continuing  along  Red  Hook  lane,  between  the  lands  of  Anthony 
Wbrthington,1  on  the  west,  and  those  of  Jacob  Bergen,  on  the 

cast,  we  come  to  a  small  frame  school  house,  erected  by  the 
formers  of  the  neighborhood;  and,  near  it,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lane  (at  near  the  junction  of  present  Butler  and  Court  streets), 
was  a  gate  opening  into  CornelVs  lane,  leading  down  towards  the 
river  to  the  house  of  Isaac  Cornell,  farmer  and  distiller,2  a  plain 
old  fashioned  man  in  manner  and  dress. 

From  this  point  (Cornell's  gate),  the  Red  Hook  lane,  passed 
along,  still  through  Bergen's  lands,  in  a  southerly  direction  towards 
Eed  Hook.  On  its  easterly  side,  in  a  retired  and  beautiful  spot, 
near  the  line  of  the  present  Carroll,  between  Clinton  and  Henry 
streets,3  was  a  small  cottage  occupied,  for  many  years  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  by  the  well  known  actress, 

Mrs  CnARLOTTE  Melmoth.  She  was  a  native  of  Great  Britain,  had 
been  duped  into  a  sham  marriage,  while  at  boarding  school,  by  a  Mr.  Pratt 
(known  in  the  literary  and  theatrical  circles  of  that  day  as  Courtney  Mel- 
moth), and  with  him  went  upon  the  stage,  playing  in  several  companies  both 
in  England  and  Ireland.  After  their  separation,  she  continued  to  bear  his 
assumed  name,  and  played  a  season  at  Covent  Garden,  in  177-4,  and  at 
Drury  Lane,  in  1776.  In  England,  however,  she  does  not  seem  to  have 
met  with  the  distinguished  success  which  she  enjoyed  at  the  Edinburgh  and 
Dublin  theatres,  where  she  was  an  acknowledged  favorite  for  many  years. 
Her  first  appearance  upon  the  American  stage  (although  she  had  given 
readings  during  the  previous  winter),  was  on  the  20th  of  November,  1793, 
at  the  old  John  street  theatre,  in  New  York.  She  was  then  past  the  prime 
of  life,  but  her  face  was  still  handsome  and  her  figure  commanding  ;  although, 
unfortunately;  so  bulky  as  to  restrict  her  to  a  very  limited  range  of  parts. 
Still,  she  came  before  the  New  York  play  goers,  of  that  day,  with  the  de- 
served reputation  of  being  the  best  tragic  actress,  which  any  —  except  it 
were  the  traveled  few  —  had  ever  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  seeing.  Her 
character,  on  this  eventful  occasion,  was  that  of  Euphrasia,  in  Murphy's 
elegant  tragedy  of  the  Grecian  Daughter,  but  her  unfortunate  dimen- 
sions, Dunlap  says,  "  were  far  beyond  the  sphere  of  embonjjoint,  and  when 
_^ » 

'Anthony  YVorthington's  liouse  stood  about  sixty  or  seventy  feet  back  from  t lie 
lane  It  has  since  been  converted  into  an  extensive  lager-bier  saloon  and  garden, 
on  the  west  side  of  Court  street  (Nos.  132,  134),  opposite  Wyckoff  street. 

2  Vol.  i,  307.    3  See  Cotton's  Map. 


156  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Euphrasia  invites  Dionysius  to  strike  her,  instead  of  her  emaciated  father, 
crying,  '  Strike  here  !  here's  blood  enough  ! '  an  involuntary  laugh  broke 
from  the  audience,  which  nearly  destroyed  not  only  all  illusion,  but  the 
hopes  of  the  actress."  Her  merit,  however,  carried  her  through  with  great 
applause,  and  she  long  remained  a  favorite.  She  often  played  the 
Grecian  Daughter,  at  this  period,  but  never  repeated  "  Here's  blood 
enough  !  "  By  degrees  she  relinquished  the  youthful  characters,  and  took 
up  a  line  of  more  matronly  ones,  in  which  she  displayed  powers  rarely 
equaled.  She  was,  also,  admirable  in  comedy;  Dunlap  remarks  of  her  that 
"  she  had  rather  too  much  of  the  Mrs.  Overdone ;  and,  from  a  natural  deficiency 
of  the  organs  of  speech,  could  not  give  utterance  to  that  letter,  which  her 
countrymen  generally  sound  double,  the  letter  r"  Mrs.  Melmoth  was  much 
esteemed  for  her  excellent  private  character,  and,  compelled  at  length  by 
advancing  age  to  leave  the  stage,  she  purchased  this  cottage  in  the  quiet 
and  beautiful  Red  Hook  lane,  and  took  boarders.  Stuart  the  artist,  was, 
for  a  while,  an  inmate  of  her  family  and  his  board  bills  seem  to  have  been 
paid,  in  part,  at  least,  with  some  of  his  inimitable  portraits,  which  adorned 
Mrs.  Melmoth's  parlor,  and  one  of  which,  that  of  Judge  Egbert  Benson,  has 
recently  found  its  appropriate  resting  place  upon  the  walls  of  the  Long 
Island  Historical  Society.  At  this  time,  also,  or  subsequently,  Mrs.  Mel- 
moth kept  a  school  for  young  ladies  and  children  at  her  residence,  her  pupils 
mostly  belonging  to  the  Cutting,  Cornell,  Pierrepont,  (John)  Jackson,  and 
Luquer  families;  some  of  these  children,  now  men  and  women  grown,  are 
still  living  and  enjoy  very  pleasant  and  respectful  memories  of  their  old 
school-mistress,  with  whom  they  boarded  during  the  week,  returning  to  their 
respective  homes  on  Saturday  to  spend  the  sabbath.  The  nearest  neighbor 
was  Mr.  Suydam's,  where  they  took  turns  in  going  daily  for  milk  wherewith 
to  furnish  the  suppan  and  milk,  which  was  a  favorite  article  of  food. 
Mrs.  Melmoth's  family  consisted  of  herself,  her  friend  Miss  Butler,  and 
two  aged  Dutch  negro  slaves,  a  man  and  a  woman.  In  person,  Mrs.  Mel- 
moth is  recollected  as  fleshy  and  heavy,  somewhat  dignified  in  manner,  but 
kind  in  word  and  deed.  She  always  spoke  with  emphasis,  and,  says  one 
of  her  old  scholars,  "  When  she  read,  she  declaimed  " —  as,  iudeed,  might 
have  been  expected  from  her  early  vocation.  She  was  esteemed  by  her 
patrons  as  peculiarly  successful  in  advancing  her  pupils  in  reading  and 
elocution.  After  a  residence  of  some  ten  or  twelve  years  in  Brooklyn,  she 
died  here,  in  October,  1823,  aged  72  years,  much  regretted  by  her  friends, 
and  was  interred  in  the  burial  ground  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New 
York  city. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  157 

At'u-r  her  decease,  the  house  was  converted  into  a  tavern,  which 
became  a  favorite  resort  for  the  dissipated  young  men  of  the  town. 
who  there  indulged  in  drinking,  eating  oysters,  raffling  for 
turkeys,  geese,  etc.,  their  orgies  being  carried  on  with  a  free- 
dom to  which  the  retired  character  of  the  spot  was  peculiarly 
conducive.  In  Furman's  Manuscript  Notes,  we  find  the  following 
story,  circumstantially  told  on  the  authority  of  an  eye  witness, 
Joseph  Moser,  which  connects  this  house  with  the  haunted  house 
before  referred  to  (ante,  154)  as  being  near  Cobbleskill  fort.  One 
night  while  a  party  of  young  roysterers  were  assembled  at  the 
tavern,  having  what  is  best  described  as  a  high  old  time,  it 
was  suddenly  discovered  that  the  supply  of  brandy  had  given  out. 
As  a  new  supply  of  the  desired  fluid  could  only  be  procured  by 
going  down  to  Brooklyn  ferry  for  it,  it  immediately  became  an 
important  question  who  would  go  for  it ;  inasmuch  as  nearly  all 
present  shared  an  apprehension  (which,  however,  they  were  not 
willing  to  own),  about  passing  the  haunted  house  alone  at  that  time 
of  night,  it  being  past  eleven  o'clock.  At  length,  a  young  man 
named  Boerum,  volunteered  his  services,  boasting  that  he  was  not 
afraid  of  a  ghost  and  (with  forced  hardihood)  declaring  even  his 
desire  to  meet  it.  Mounting  his  horse,  therefore,  he  started  for 
the  ferry,  after  the  brandy.  An  hour  elapsed,  and,  still  another, 
but  he  returned  not.  His  boon  companions,  becoming  uneasy  in 
consequence  of  his  prolonged  absence,  finally  resolved  to  go,  all 
together,  and  seek  him.  Mounting,  not  in  hot  haste,  however, 
they  turned  their  horses'  heads  towards  the  village  and  on  approach- 
ing the  haunted  ground,  they  found  young  Boerum's  horse  stand- 
ing against  the  fence  not  far  from  the  house,  and,  when  they 
reached  the  spot  itself,  their  companion  was  discovered  lying 
senseless  in  the  road,  with  features  horribly  distorted.  He  was 
taken  back  to  the  tavern,  where  he  lingered  for  two  or  three  days, 
in  a  speechless  condition,  and  then  died.  That  he  had  been  no 
further  than  the  spot  where  he  was  found  was  evident  from  the 
fact  that  the  bottle  was  empty,  and  that  he  had  not  been  seen  or 
heard  of  that  night  by  any  one  at  the  ferry,  or  in  the  village. 

Beyond  Mrs.  Melmoth's,  on  the  westerly  side  of  Red  Hook  lane 
was  a  high  and  beautiful  elevation,  which  sloped  gently  off  to  the 


158  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

river,. and  which  was  subsequently  known  as  Prospect  hill,  or  Hoyt's 
hill,  from  its  owner  Mr.  Charles  Hoyt,  who  first  (about  1826), 
pushed  streets  through  it,  and  brought  it  into  the  market.  It  is 
said  that  the  first  lithographic  property  maps,  since  so  commonly 
used  among  real  estate  men,  were  made  to  illustrate  this  property. 
On  the  highest  point  of  this  elevation,  Mr.  James  W*.  Moulton,  the 
accomplished  historian  of  our  state,  erected  a  very  elegant  resi- 
dence of  the  Gothic  style,  which,  upon  his  removal  to  Ro.slyn, 
L.  I.,  was  purchased  and  occupied  by  A.  J.  Spooner,  Esq.  The 
extension  of  Summit  street,  involved  its  destruction. 

We  continue  along  the  Mill  road,  which  made  a  bend  (between 
Rapalje  and  Coles  streets,  on  the  line  of  Hicks),  around  to  the  resi- 
dence and  mill  of.Nicholas  Luquer,  the  grandfather  of  the  present 
Nicholas  Luquer,  Esq.  The  long,  low,  and  cozy  looking  home- 
stead was  surrounded  by  trees,  through  whose  branches  a  pleasant 
breeze  seemed  always  to  play.  It  fronted  the  mill-pond,  where- 
in Mr.  Luquer,  a  thin  French  looking  man,  raised  oysters  of  ex- 
traordinary size  and  delicacy.  His  mill  (called  on  Ratzer's  map, 
the  I.  Seabring  mill),  was  mostly  employed  in  grinding  grain  for 
the  use  of  Mr.  Pierrepont's  distillery  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon's 
lane.1  Returning  to  Luquer's  mill,  at  corner  of  present  Hicks 
and  Huntington  streets,  we  find  the  road  turning  to  the  corner  of 
the  present  William  and  Columbia  streets,  crossing  Bull  creek 
(described  in  vol.  i,  67-69,  and  also  on  Ratzer's  map,  vol.  i,  63), 
Koeties  kill,  or  Cow's  creek  (see  same  Map,  d),  and,  by  a  bridge 
(same  Map,  b),  the  stream  which  divided  Red  Hook  from  the  main- 
land. 

Red  Hook,  which  has  been  already  pretty  fully  described  in 
our  first  volume  (pages  59  to  63),  wTas,  at  the  time  of  which  we 
speak,  in  the  possession  of  Matthias  and  Nicholas  Van  Dyke. 
The  southern  portion  of  the  Hook  was  a  high  hill  covered  with 
locust,  poplar,  cedar,  and  sassafras  trees.     This  hill  was  cut  down, 

1  Between  Luquer's  residence  and  mill,  and  in  about  the  line  of  the  present  Coles 
street,  ran  a  road  down  to  Jordon  Coles's  tide  mills.  Coles's  mill  pond  like  that  of 
Luquer  was  constructed  artificially.  The  only  house  on  this  road  was  a  small  one 
occupied  by  a  fisherman,  named  Ham  Bennet ;  and  across  the  road  near  Coles's  house 
was  a  gate,  which  prevented  cattle  from  straying  on  to  Red  Hook. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  159 

in  1835,  by  Messrs.  Dikeraan, "Waring  and  Onderhill,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  filling  up  the  neighboring  mill  ponds,  lower  ground  and 
drowned  marsh.  There  were,  on  the  island  proper,  only  six 
buildings.  On  the  extreme  south-western  point  known  as  Powder 
House  Point,  was  a  brick  powder  house  erected  by  Messrs.  Jero- 
mus  Johnson,  Charles  J.  Howell,  and  John  Hoff  (afterwards  sur- 
veyor of  the  port  of  New  York),  who  purchased  from  the  Van 
Dycks,  an  acre  of  land  for  that  purpose.1  Johnson  and  his  associ- 
ates had  formerly  a  powder  house  upon  a  little  island,  called 
Cornell's  island,  situated  about  five  hundred  yards  north  of  Bull 
creek,  but  this  had  been  washed  away  by  the  tide.  On  the  north- 
ern end  of  the  island,  the  dwelling  of  the  Van  Dyck  brothers ; 
on  the  east  side,  their  two  mills  and  a  small  house  occupied  by 
the  miller.  Matthias's  mill  was  known  as.  Ginger  mill,  from  its 
being  used  solely  in  the  grinding  of  that  article  ;  while  Nicholas's 
was  called  the  Flour,  or  Tide  mill.  The  large  adjoining  mill 
pond  extended  to  Boomties  Hook,  and  was  famous  for  its  fine 
oysters. 

The  brothers  Van  Dyke,  always  lived  together  in  the  same 
house  —  Nicholas  being  a  bachelor.  Matthias  died  first,  and  his 
heirs  brought  a  partition  suit  in  chancery.  His  estate  was  sold 
in  1834,  under  decree  of  the  court  of  chancery,  to  parties  who 
organized  the  Red  Hook  Building  Company,  having  for  its  object 
the  sale  of  the  lauds,  and  the  issuing  of  stocks,  at  one  dollar  per 
share,  redeemable  at  a  half  per  cent  discount  in  Wall  street.     The 

1  This  was  a  small  brick  building,  fifteen  by  twenty  feet,  with  no  windows,  and  on  a 
little  wharf.  At  the  great  fire  of  New  York,  in  1835,  which  was  intensely  cold 
weather,  the  supply  of  water  gave  out,  and  hope  almost  died  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  saw  the  rapid  progress  of  the  flames.  It  was  finally  determined  to  make  an 
eflbri  to  arrest  t lie  spread  of  the  fire,  by  blowing  up  several  buildings.  Charles 
King  (then  editor  of  the  New  York  American,  and  since  president  of  Columbia 
College),  came  over  to  the  Navy  Yard,  by  request  of  the  mayor,  to  procure  powder.  He 
was  informed  by  the  commandant  that  there  was  not  a  sufficient  quantity  for  thai 
purpose,  in  the  yard  ;  and,  being  furnished  by  that  officer  with  a  written  order,  and 
an  open  boat,  manned  by  marines,  he  went  down  to  the  Red  Hook  Point  powder 
house  in  this  intensely  cold  weather,  procured  the  powder  and  reached  the  city  with 
it.  There  it  was  carried  by  the  marines  under  their  overcoats  (in  twenty-five 
pound  kegs),  placed  in  cellars,  and  by  the  blowing  up  of  a  few  houses,  the  fire  was 
stayed. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


undertaking,  however,  was  a  purely  speculative  one,  proved  too 
heavy  for  those  who  had  undertaken  it;  and,  in  1835,  it  was  taken 
hold  of  by  Messrs.  Yoorhees,  Stranahan  &  Co.,  who  organized 
the  well  known  Atlantic  Dock  Company,  and  erected  thereon  the 
extensive  warehouses  and  stores  known  as  the  Atlantic  Docks. 

Along  the  western  side  of  the  Hook,  at  low  water,  was  a  large 
flat,  extending  up  to  Pierrepont's  distillery  at  the  foot  of  Jorale- 
mon's  lane.  .  Passing  northward,  along  the  shore  of  the  East  river, 
we  come  to  the  following  farms,  all  lying  between  the  river  and 
Red  Hook  lane,  viz : 

I.  Cornell's,  previously  alluded  to  in  passing  down  Red  Hook 
lane,  which  formed  its  easterly  boundary.  Cornell's  mill,  mill- 
pond,  family,  etc.,  have  been  described  in  our  first  volume.1 

II.  Parmenus  Johnson's  estate,  lying  between  the  river  and 
the  lane,  and  extending  from  Baltic  nearly  to  Congress  street. 
Mr.  Johnson^  who  is  still  living,  came  from  Oyster  bay,  L.  I., 
about  1818,  and  purchased  sixteen  acres  of  the  old  Rynier  Suydam 
farm,  to  which  he  added  forty  or  more  acres  by  filling  in  and 
docking  out  upon  his  water  front.  He  married  a  daughter  of  old 
Judge  Joralemon  and  has  become,  by  the  imprecedented  rise  of 
real  estate,  one  of  our  wealthiest  citizens.  The  old  Rynier  Suy- 
dam house,  a  venerable  Dutch  edifice,  stood  on  the  site  of  Mr. 
Johnson's  present  residence,  on  the  comer  of  Hicks  and  West 
Baltic  streets,  surrounded  with  pear  trees  a  century  old,  and 
the  water  at  that  time,  came  up  as  high  as  the  present  line  of 
Henry  street. 

HI.  The  estate  of  Cornelius  Heeney,  of  whom  we  shall  have  more 
to  say  in  another  part  of  our  volume.2 

IV.  Ralph  Patchen's  farm,  extending  from  Congress  to  District 
(now  Atlantic)  street.  He  was  one  of  the  old  Fly  Market  butchers, 
of  whom  there  seems  to  have  been  so  many  in  Brooklyn ;  pur- 
chased the  distillery  of  Isaac  Cornell,  and  the  land  of  William  Cor- 
nell (vol.  i,  p.  307),  entered  into  the  distilling  business,  and  became 
very  wealthy.  He  was  an  honest  man,  but  rough  in  conversation, 
and  at  times  very  severe  and  personal ;  he,  however,  had  the  con- 


1  Page  307.    2  In  connection  with  the  Roman  Catholic  benevolent  institutions. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  101 

fidence  of  his  fellow  citizens  who  several  times  placed  him  in  public 
office.  The  large  dork  near  his  distillery,  was  long  known  as 
Patch  k :  and  his  residence  was  on  the  line  of  the  present 

Hicks  street,  a  few  doors  south  of  Atlantic. 

Y.  The  Joralemon  estate,  extending  from  the  East  river  to  the 
lane  and  from  about  100  feet  north  of  present  State  street  to  Jorale- 
mon's  lane.  This  was  purchased  in  1803,  by  Tunis  Joralemon 
from  the  executors  of  Philip  Livingston,  Esq.  Its  history,  as  the 
Livingston  estate,  has  already  been  given  on  pages  70,  304,  and 
306,  of  our  first  volume,  and  on  page  146  of  the  present  volume. 

Tunis  Joralemon,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  wasborn  in  September,  17G0, 
and  was.  for  a  while,  a  harness  and  saddle  maker  near  Flatbush.  After  his 
purchase  of  the  Livingston  estate,  he  devoted  his  attention  to  his  garden  ; 
sold  milk  and  vegetables  in  the  New  York  market,  and  was  a  prominent  man 
iu  the  Dutch  church.  He  was.  at  one  time,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  a 
trustee  of  the  village  iu  1817.'  18,'  19,'  20.'  21.  In  person  he  was  tall,  slim 
and  slightly  bent  ;  his  austere  features  strongly  resembling  the  portraits  of 
Dante,  the  great  Italian  poet  ;l  and  his  manner  was  energetic  and  determined. 
He  was  most  obstinately  opposed  to  having  streets  opened  through  his  farm. 
In  1826,  Mr.  Charles  Hoyt  forced  Henry  street  through  it,  which  was  the 
commencement  of  the  spread  of  land  speculation  in  Brooklyn.-  A  little 
afterwards.  Mr.  Pierrepont,  who  had  laid  out  a  street  through  his  own  estate 
called  Clinton  street,  (because  it  was  projected  at  the  time  that  that  cele- 
brated statesmen  succeeded  in  carrying  out  his  great  project  of  the  canal) 
endeavored  to  force  it  through  Joralemon's  laud,  by  action  of  the  village 
trustees.  Mr.  Joralemon  opposed  it  bitterly,  mainly  because  he  disliked 
Clinton  and  his  b'uj  ditch,  and  did  not  wish  a  street  named  after  him.3 
He  died  in  1840,  leaving  behind  him  the  name  of  an  honest  man.  and  a 
property  which,  at  the  time,  was  estimated  as  worth  from  six  to  seven 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1841,  the  old  Livingston  mansion,  which  he 
i  long  occupied,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Two  mayors  of  Brooklyn,  the 
Hon.  Samuel  Smith  and  Hon.  T.  G.  Talmadge,  married  daughters  of  Mr. 
Joralemon. 

'He  was  indeed  of  Italian  descent. 

2  Hoyt,  however,  did  not  effect  this  until  he  was  aided  by  the  influence  of  George 
Wood.  Esq.,  a  fellow  Jerseym&n  with  Joralemon.  Hoyt  and  Wood  paid  for  the  land 
Occupied  by  the  street. 

'Clinton  was  finally  cut  through  Joralemon's  land,  in  1834,  by  commissioners. 
21 


162  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Livingston  street,  and,  also,  Sidney  Place,  were  laid  out  on  the  old 
map  of  1801,1  by  which  the  Livingston  farm  was  sold — but  no 
names  were  then  affixed,  they  being  simply  called  new  roads. 

Along  the  river  front  of  Joralemon's  property  lay  what  was 
called  the  Fishing  place,  it  having  been,  from  time  immemorial,  a 
favorite  resort  of  the  towns-people  to  draw  their  nets  for  fish ; 
and  it  is  said  that  Mr.  Livingston,  the  former  owner  of  the  Jora- 
lemon  estate,  was  accustomed  to  grant  a  privilege  to  fish  at  this 
place,  at  a  stipulated  price  per  day. 


Walk  the  Fifth,  along  the  Brooklyn  and  Flatbush  Turnpike 
[Fulton  and  Flatbush  avenues),  to  the  town  line ;  along  the  Brooklyn 
and  Jamaica  Turnpike  [Fulton  avenue),  to  Bedford  Corners;  and, 
down  the  Fort  Greene  road  to  the  Wallabout. 

"We  must  now  retrace  our  steps  a  little,  to  the  point  where  we 
left  off'  our  (first)  tour  on  the  Old  Ferry  road,  viz :  at  the  junction 
of  the  present  Fulton  street,  Myrtle  avenue  and  Washington 
street.  Myrtle  avenue  had  not  then  been  opened,  although  its 
germ  existed  in  a  little  street  called  Myrtle  street ,  which  extended 
only  a  short  distance  eastwardly  from  the  main  road.  A  little 
way  from  this  Myrtle  street,  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  and 
elevated  several  feet  above  its  level,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Halsey  buildings,  was  Nicholas  Eouse's  grocery  store  and  garden. 
Nicholas  was  a  German,  who  had  been  for  many  years  a  resident 
of  the  village  and  was  much  respected.  His  whole  yard  was 
covered  by  a  fine  grapevine,  which  bore  abundantly,  and  the 
citizens  of  Brooklyn  were  wont,  during  the  warm  summer  months, 
to  resort  there  in  great  numbers  to  partake  of  his  excellent  mead 
and  cakes ;  while,  in  autumn  they  sought  the  grateful  shades  of 
his  arbor,  to  enjoy  the  delicious  grapes  and  the  fine  prospect, 
there  being,  at  that  time,  no  houses  between  his  place  and  the 
Wallabout.     After  Brooklyn  began  to  improve  and  new  streets 

1  A  map  of  the  seat  of  the  late  Philip  Livingston,  Esq..  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  on 
Long  Island.  Surveyed  and  laid  out  into  twenty-four  lots,  by  Charles  Loss,  city 
surveyor,  New  York,  Nov.  2d,  1801. 


MAP  C, 


Shotting  (by  dotted  lines)  the  course  of  the 
old  Brooklyn  and  Jamaica  Turnpike,  be- 
tween the  present  City  Hall  and  Bond 
street. 


REFERENCES. 

1.  The  Military  Garden. 

2.  The  Willoughby  Mansion. 

3.  Site  of  the  Old  Dutch  Church.  (Vol.  i, 
p.  193). 

4.  The  Duffield  House.  (See  picture  of 
Brooklyn  Church,  opposite  page  193, 
vol.  I). 

5.  The  Duffleld  family  burial-place. 

N.B.  The  squares,  in  light  lines,  indicate 
the  sites  of  old  houses  removed  by 
the  opening  of  the  present  Fulton 
Avenue. 


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164  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

were  opened  and  old  ones  repaved,  it  disturbed  Mynheer  Rouse 
so  that  he  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  settled  a  short  distance 
beyond  the  junction  of  Broadway  and  the  Bowery  and  built  up  a 
good  trade  and  fortune,  but  ultimately  fled  higher  up  in  the  city, 
before  the  steady  advance  of  brick  and  mortar. 

Beyond  Rouse's,  near  the  point  of  the  present  Willoughby  street, 
stood  the  large  and  pleasantly  willow-shaded  residence  of  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Howland,  father  of  George  S.  Howlancl.  On  the  point, 
now  occupied  by  Jones's  Building,  where  the  L.  I.  Savings  Bank 
is  located,  stood  Ralph  Malbone's  grocery.  Immediately  adjoin- 
ing this  was  Howland's  rope  walk,  extending  along  the  northerly 
line  of  the  Duffield  estate,  from  Fulton  to  near  Bridge  street. 
From  this  point,  the  Duffield  estate  extended  along  the  northerly 
side  of  the  turnpike  to  about  the  present  junction  of  Dufneld  street 
with  Fulton  avenue.  This  estate,  like  the  Johnson  property, 
which  we  have  already  described,,  was  of  a  triangular  shape,  its 
apex  resting  on  the  site  of  the  present  City  park. 

The  old  Duffield  house  stood  near  the  westerly  corner  of  the 
present  Duffield  street  as  it  enters  Fulton  avenue,  and  its  portrait 
is  well  preserved  in  the  view  of  the  old  Brooklyn  church,  in  our 
first  volume.  During  the  Revolutionary  war  it  was  occupied  by 
the  British,  and  bore  upon  its  door  posts  the  broad-arrow  mark 
which  indicated  appropriation  to  army  uses.  Its  owner,  at  that 
time,  was  Mr.  Johannes  DeBevoise,  who  received  it  as  a  wedding 
day  gift  from  his  father.  He  was  clerk  of  the  town ;  and,  for 
many  years  also,  of  the  old  Dutch  church  which  stood  near  by ; 
and  his  residence  very  naturally  became  theDomine's  house,  where 
the  ministers  were  always  expected  to  stay  for  rest  and  refreshment 
between  church  services  on  the  sabbath ;  for  receiving  applications 
for  baptism,  membership,  etc. ;  for  meeting  the  consistory,  church 
masters  and  others,  and  for  attending  generally  to  their  official 
duties  whenever  they  visited  Brooklyn.  Mr.  De  Bevoise's  wife 
is  said  to  have  burned  in  her  oven  a .  large  quantity  of  the  old 
church  papers  and  documents ;  alleging,  with  housewifely  hatred 
of  such  lumbering  trash,  that  old  papers  always  made  so  much 
trouble.  Margaret  De  Bevoise,  the  daughter  of  the  worthy  town 
clerk  Johannes,  married  Dr.  John  Duffield,  an  American  army 


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BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  1G5 

Burgeon,  and  was  the  mother  of  Susan  who  married  Capt.  Charles 
K.  Lawrence;  Anna,  who  married  Capt  Christopher  Prince  and 
had  a  daughter  who  married  Judge  William  Rockwell;  and  Mar- 
oare<,  who  married  (1)  Capt.  Archibald  Thompson,  and  (2)  Samuel 
A.  Wllloughby,  of  Brooklyn.  Old  Mrs.  Duffield  (as  related  Ref. 
12,  Ratzer's  Map  p.  63,  first  vol.)  strenuously  resisted  the  open- 
ing of  Duffield  street,  through  her  property;  and  the  venerahle 
mansion  itself,  after  being  rudely  jostled  and  crowded  by  modern 
buildings,  was  finally  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  14th  of  April,  1857. 

The  private  burying  ground  of  the  Duffield  family  formerly 
stood  upon  the  southerly  side  of  the  road,  a  little  westward  of  the 
present  Gold  street.1  When  the  road  was  straightened  into  the 
present  Fulton  avenue,  the  little  burial  place  found  itself  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  avenue,  and  was  blotted  out  of  existence. 

From  the  corner  of  the  present  Duffield  street  to  the  junction  of 
present  Fulton  and  De  Kaib  avenues,  the  Samuel  Fleet  estate 
fronted  on  the  turnpike,  stretching  back  to  the  site  of  the  present 
City  park. 

Samuel  Fleet  was  a  farmer,  and  a  descendant  of  an  old  English 
family.  His  ancestor  Thomas  Fleet,  a  captain  in  the  British  navy, 
came  to  America  about  1650,  and  purchased  an  extensive  tract  of 
land  near  Huntington,  Long  Island,  upon  which  he  settled. 
Samuel  Fleet  made  a  snug  property  during  the  war  of  1812,  when 
grain  and  produce  were  very  high,  and  by  the  purchase  of  this 
farm  and  other  property  in  Brooklyn  became  a  very  wealthy  man. 

A  little  above  the  present  junction  of  De  Kalb  and  Fulton 
avenues  was  the  Black  Horse  tavern,  kept,  for  many  years,  by 
Isaac  De  Yoe,  and  afterwards  owned  by  Robert  De  Bevoise. 
Beyond  it,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  was  the  house  occupied 
by  Mr.  De  Bevoise,  and  built  by  his  son-in-law  Samuel  Van 
Bueren,  now  kept  as  a  liquor  saloon  under  the  name  of  the 
Abbey.  Just  this  side  (No.  159  Fulton  avenue)  stood  the  old 
sycamore  tree  which  marked  the  place  where  the  earth-work  line 
of  defense  crossed  the  turnpike,  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and, 
also,  in  the  war  of  1812. 

1  About  in  front  of  Morton's  Scotch  bakery,  (Map  C,  figure  5). 


166  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In  one  of  two  small  dwellings  in  this  neighborhood  resided  the 
eccentric  Rain  Water  Doctor,  whom  we  have  described  on  page 
393  of  our  first  volume. 

Beyond,  and  on  the  corner  of  a  road  which  ran  east  to  Fort 
Greene,  stood  another  tavern  kept  by  Charles  Poling,  who  was 
connected  with  the  horse-artillery  of  the  county,  the  members  of 
which  generally  assembled  here  before  parade,  etc.  Opposite  the 
tavern,  which  faced  on  this  side  road,  was  a  hay  scales,  bearing, 
in  a  niche,  high  upon  its  front,  an  excellent  profile,  on  an  oval, 
designed  for,  and  understood,  during  the  Revolution,  to  be  that 
of  King  George  III.  When  peace  was  again  restored,  however, 
it  was  found  to  be  expedient,  in  order  to  save  it  from  harm,  to  in- 
scribe upon  it  the  name  of  Franklin,  and  it  ever  after  passed  for  a 
bona-fide  representation  of  that  distinguished  American.1 

The  road  before  mentioned  as  passing  eastward,  past  Poling's 
tavern,  led  to  a  house  on  Fort  Greene,  occupied  by  a  milkman 
named  George  McCloskey,  who  was  the  father  of  the  present 
Roman  Catholic  archbishop  of  New  York.  The  future  arch- 
bishop, we  have  been  told,  was  born  in  mid-winter,  when  the 
ground  was  covered  with  deep  snow  and  the  bay  filled  with 
ice.  His  mother,  being  taken  seriously  ill  after  her  confine- 
ment, was  unable  to  nurse  him,  when  Mrs.  Hezekiah  B.  Pierre- 
pont,  whose  son  Henry  E.,  was  an  infant  of  nearly  the  same  age, 
sympathizing  with  the  helpless  condition  of  the  mother  and  the 
danger  of  the  child,  went  herself  and  nursed  the  infant  until  the 
mother  was  able  to  do  so.  The  boy  throve,  commenced  the  study 
of  law  under  Joseph  W.  Smith,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  but  finally, 
quit  and  entered  the  ministry,  to  the  great  delight  of  his  worthy 
father,  who  could,  however,  hardly  have  anticipated  the  eminence 
to  which  his  son  was  ultimately  to  attain. 

From  McCloskey's  house  the  road  run  northwardly  until  it  entered 
the  Newtown  turnpike,  near  the  easterly  termination  of  the  Walla- 

1 A  similar  case  of  trimming  to  suit  the  political  changes  of  the  day,  was  that  of 
the  sign  of  the  King's  Arms,  displayed  in  front  of  the  old  tavern  at  Flatbush,  kept 
by  Mrs.  Schoonmaker.  After  the  peace,  an  effigy  of  the  American  eagle  was  added 
and  represented  as  flying  away  with  the  King's  Arms  !  It  is  needless  to  add  that  the 
old  sign  held  its  own,  undisturbed,  for  many  years  after. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  1G7 

bout  bridge,  about  at  the  junction  of  present  Flushing  and  Port- 
land avenues,  where  a  toll-gate  controlled  the  travel  over  both 
roads.  A  little  south  of  the  easterly  end  of  the  bridge  was  a  mill  ; 
and,  over  the  Wallabout  Flats  was  a  windmill,  in  which  an 
Englishman  named  Stockhouse  committed  suicide  by  blowing  out 
his  brains,  shortly  after  which  occurrence  the  mill  was  taken  down 
or  destroyed.  Proceeding  along  the  Newtown  turnpike,  on  the 
south  side  was  the  dwelling  of  William  Cornell  (son  of  old  White- 
head Cornell)  who  owned  a  valuable  farm  lying  east  of  the  toll- 
bridge,  and  which  included  a  part  of  Fort  Greene.  He  was  a  very 
jovial  man,  fond  of  good  company,  and  was  the  agent  of  Dupont, 
the  famous  gunpowder  manufacturer,  for  the  sale  of  his  powder 
in  New  York.  When  Fort  Greene  was  constructed  on  Cornell's 
farm  during  the  war  of  1812,  the  government  erected  two  powder- 
houses  on  the  hill,  which  Cornell  subsequently  used  for  the  storage 
of  Dupont's  powder.  For  several  years  powder  was  transported 
from  these  powder  houses  to  New  York,  in  open  wagons, 
merely  covered  over  with  blankets  or  carpets.  After  the  incor- 
poration of  the  village,  however,  in  1816,  the  public  attention 
began  to  be  called  to  the  great  danger  attached  to  -this  way  of 
doing  things,  and  finally  the  authorities  broke  up  the  practice. 
Beyond  Uncle  Billy's  house,  on  both  sides  of  the  Newtown  turn- 
pike, to  the  town  line  between  Brooklyn  and  Bushwick,  there 
were  only  some  ten  houses,  occupied  by  farmers,  milkmen  and 
gardeners. 

Returning  to  Poling's  tavern,  on  the  Jamaica  turnpike  we  pass 
three  or  four  small  dwellings  and  a  carriage  shop,  before  coming 
to  the  estate  of  John  Jackson,  extending  along  the  easterly  side 
of  the  turnpike,  from  a  point  opposite  the  junction  of  Livings- 
ton street  and  present  Flatbush  avenue,  to  the  southerly  side 
of  Hanson  place.  His  residence  was  located  on  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  present  Navy  street  and  Lafayette  avenue,  while 
back  on  the  line  of  Raymond  street  and  Lafayette  avenue 
were  his  barns,  stables  and  gardens.  We  may  here  add  to 
our  previous  sketch  of  John  Jackson  (vol.  i,  363)  that  he 
displayed  much  taste  in  horticulture  and  had  an  extensive 
greenhouse. 


168  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Saving  now  arrived  near  the  old  toll  house,  which  sfood  at  the 
southerly  line  of  John  Jackson's  estate,  we  will  retrace  our  steps 
to  Red  Hook  lane,  and  briefly  describe  the  southerly  side  of  the 
turnpike  from  Red  Hook  lane  to  the  toll-gate. 

Before  coming  to  the  entrance  of  Red  Hook  lane,  we  see  first 
a  two-story  frame  house,  still  standing,  a  little  back  from  the 
street,  at  the  corner  of  Boerum  and  Fulton  streets,  and  occupied 
at  the  time  of  which  we  speak  by  Christopher  Codwise.  It  was 
built  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Lowe,  brother  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Lowe  and 
a  highly  respected  physician,  who  died  in  January,  1810,  and  was 
interred  at  Flatbush.  Beyond  this  was  the  residence  of  Tunis 
Johnson;  then  the  graveyard  belonging  to  the  Dutch  church; 
then,  with  a  considerable  intervening  space,  an  old  frame  house, 
shaded  in  front  by  two  enormous  black  walnut  trees,  and  occupied 
by  one  Voorhis,  who  kept  a  carriage  and  blacksmith  shop  nearly 
adjoining  his  residence.  Then,  opposite  the  Jackson  estate, 
the  residence  of  George  Powers,  who  purchased  this  farm  from 
Michael  Grant  Bergen,  who  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia,  with  many 
other  loyalists  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.1 

George  Powers,  Senior,  says  Be  Voe,  is  another  name  which  de- 
mands from  history,  at  least  a  line  of  record.  Although  tradition  says,  he 
was  a  Hessian  soldier  during  the  Revolution,  an  examination  of  the  subject 
has  convinced  me,  that  he  was  not  one  of  those  hirelings ;  but.  on  the  other 


1  See  Bergen  Genealogy,  pp.  43,  106.  This  old  house  was  built  and  occupied  by 
Michael  Bergen,  and  was  located  on  the  patent  of  land  granted  originally  to  Albert 
Cornellissen  Wantenear.  (See  Fig.  7,  Ratzer's  Map,  vol.  I,  page  62).  The  land  was 
subsequently  acquired  by  Michael  Bergen,  and  at  a  later  date  became  a  part  of  the 
George  Powers  estate ;  it  was  rebuilt  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  by  Michael 
Grant,  a  grandson  of  Michael  Bergen,  and  was  torn  down  within  a  few  years.  There 
is  quite  a  romantic  incident  connected  with  the  history  of  this  edifice.  Grant,  by 
whom  it  was  rebuilt,  was  a  suitor  (so  runs  the  legend),  for  the  hand  of  a  Miss  Cow- 
enhoven,  of  Bedford,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  his  suit  reaching  a  favorable  consummation. 
In  anticipation  of  the  completion  of  his  happiness,  he  built  the  house  with  all  suit- 
able conveniences,  to  gratify  the  taste  and  promote  the  comfort  of  its  future  mistress. 
But  his  cup  of  bliss  was  rudely  dashed  from  his  lips,  for  the  fair  one,  with  the  pro- 
verbial fickleness  of  her  sex,  rejected  the  ardent  swain,  and  in  a  fit  of  bitter  disappoint- 
ment he  sold  the  mansion  and  transferred  himself  to  Nova  Scotia,  where  he 
ultimately  settled  down  in  life,  and  where  his  descendants  now  reside.  There  is  no 
doubt  whatever  of  the  authenticity  of  the  story. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  169 

band,  he  was  among  those  who  suffered  much  for  their  love  of  country.  "We 
find  him  before  the  Revolution,  a  butcher  in  the  old  Fly  Market,  from  which, 
in  177 4,  he  advertised  a  run-away.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  he 
took  sides  with  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  and  joined  a  company  called  the  Brooklyn 
Troop  of  Horse,  under  Capt.  Adolph  Waldron,  who  was  an  inn-holder,  at 
Brooklyn  Ferry.  The  services  of  this  company  have  been  previously  described, 
but  when  they  were  ordered  off  Long  Island,  Powers  and  several  others  crossed 
the  sound,  from  Huntington  to  Norwalk,  leaving  their  horses  behind,  which 
were  lost  to  them;  and  we  find  those  men  in  Dutchess  county,  in  October, 
1776,  in  destitute  circumstances;  when  they  received  their  pay  from  the 
coovention.  In  1782,  before  the  termination  of  the  war,  although  it  was 
known  to  be  near,  Powers  returned  to  Brooklyn,  where  he  again  commenced 
business,  as  we  find,  on  the  twelfth  of  October,  of  that  year,  the  following  : 
"  Ran  away  from  George  Powers,  butcher  at  Brooklyn  Ferry,  a  young 
negro  fellow  named  Cato,for  which  he  offers  two  guineas  reward."  Early  in 
1784,  he  also  gave  notice,  that  all  persons  indebted  to  George  Powers,  Sen., 
of  Brooklyn  Ferry,  are  desired  to  pay  their  respective  debts  to  no  person  but 
himself,  likewise  not  to  trust  any  person  on  his  account. 

Powers's  early  return  gave  him  many  advantages.  First :  in  establishing 
a  profitable  business  before  the  British  troops  left  the  country ;  then,  there 
were  offered  many  opportunities  for  investing  a  small  amount  of  money  in 
various  ways,  as  in  teams  of  horses  and  cattle,  wagons,  etc.,  which  the  re- 
treating British  troops  could  not  carry  away  with  them.  These  investments, 
after  a  few  years,  returned  large  profits.  His  gains  were  laid  out  principally 
in  landed  property  in  the  town,  which  afterwards  became  very  valuable. 

Just  beyond  Powers's  was  the  old  toll-gate  before  mentioned, 
which  stood  a  little  south  of  the  present  Hanson  place,  and 
about  seventy-five  feet  west  of  St.  Felix  street.  Some  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  to  the  southward  of  the  toll-gate,  stood  the  old  John 
Cowenhoven  house,  a  large  heavy  building  of  the  Dutch  type, 
with  humpbacked  roof,  shaded  by  enormous  willows  and  fronting 
south.  Its  location  may  be  described  as  being  on  the  west  side 
of  Fort  Greene  Place,  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  north  of 
Atlantic  avenue,  and  with  its  gable  on  the  Flatbush  turnpike;  it 
was  pulled  down  only  a  few  years  since. 

About  two  hundred  feet  south  of  the  Cowenhoven  house  stood 
Baker's  tavern,  associated  with  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  as  being 
the  point,  at  which  the  long  flanking  #march  of  the  British  army, 

22 


170  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

finally  ended  on  that  eventful  day.1  A  fine  view  of  this  building, 
more  lately  known  as  the  old  Bull's  Head  tavern,  will  be  found 
in  the  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manual,  for- 1867. 

From  the  southerly  side  of  the  Flatbush  turnpike,  beyond  the 
toll-gate,  a  road  branched  off,  at  about  the  present  junction  of 
Flatbush  and  Fifth  avenues,  to  Gowanus.  This  road  we  shall 
describe  in  a  subsequent  portion  of  this  chapter.  The  Flatbush 
turnpike  swept  along,  through  fields  and  woods,  up  to  the  top  of 
Flatbush  hill,  through  what  is  now  Prospect  Park,  and  down  the  hill 
to  a  building  in  the  hollow  known  as  the  Valley  Grove  tavern  — 
near  the  boundary  line  between  Flatbush  and  Brooklyn.2  At  this 
point  (about  the  corner  of  present  Eleventh  avenue  and  First 
street,  as  laid  out  on  city  maps,  before  Prospect  Park  was  designed), 
it  met  a  road  running  westward  (nearly  in  line  of  the  present 
First  street),  to  a  point  in  the  middle  of  block  now  bounded  by 
Fourth  and  Fifth  avenues,  and  Macomb  and  First  streets),  where 
it  met  the  Gowanus  road,  just  mentioned,  as  well  as  the  road  to 
Denton's  and  Freeke's  mills.  This,  known  as  the  old  Port  road,3 
from  a  very  early  period,  and  memorably  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  .battle  of  Long  Island,  was  also  familiarly  known, 
by  latter  generations,  as  the  Shunpilce  road,  for,  by  traveling  this 
route  to  Red  Hook  lane,  the  inhabitants  of  Flatbush,  and  others 
going  to  and  from  Brooklyn,  avoided  the  toll-gate  upon  the  Flat- 
bush turnpike. 

1  See  note  to  page  266,  of  first  volume. 

2  The  Valley  Grove  tavern,  more  recently  known  as  Hicks  Post  Tavern  has  passed 
away  before  the  improvements  of  the  Prospect  Park  commissioners,  a  small  tree 
being  all  that  is  left  to  mark  its  site,  near  Battle  hill.  For  view  of  Battle  hill,  and 
Valley  grove  (now  the  Battle  Pass  of  the  park)  as  they  appeared  at  the  beginning  of 
the  century,  and  for  some  time  after,  see  illustration  opposite  page  261  of  first  volume, 
also  notes  2  and  3,  of  same  page. 

3  Note,  page  159,  vol.  l. 


L 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  17.°, 

On  the  FlatbuBh  turnpike,  between  the  old  toll-gate  and  the 
Flatbush  and  Brooklyn  boundary  line,  the  only  buildings  were  the 
Valley  Grove  tavern,  above  mentioned;  another  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  to  the  westward,  called  the  Farmer's  Resort  and 
Citizen's  Retreat;  a  small  building  in  the  woods  on  the  top 
of  the  hill,  a  small  house  about  half-way  down  the  (Brooklyn) 
side  of  the  hill,  and  another  near  the  junction  of  the  Flatbush 
and  Jamaica  roads,  now  Elliott  Place,  and  Atlantic  avenue. 
These  were  all  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  road.  Of  that  portion 
of  the  road,  which  passed  through  what  is  now  Prospect  park,  it 
may  be  said  that  it  was  then  almost  uninhabitable  on  account  of 
the  agues,  fall  fevers,  and  other  malarious  diseases  arising  from 
the  several  stagnant  ponds,  hidden  among  the  thick  woods,  which 
covered  this  locality. 

Retracing  our  steps,  therefore,  to  the  junction  of  the  Flatbush 
and  Jamaica  roads  (present  Atlantic  avenue  and  Elliott  place), 
we  pause  a  moment,  before  following  our  route  along  the 
latter,  to  view  the  extensive  horticultural  garden  of  Mr.  Andre 
Parmentier. 

Andre  Parmentier,  born  at  Engheim,  department  of  Jemmapes,  pro- 
vince of  Hainault,  in  Belgium,  July  3d,  1780,  was  of  a  highly  respectable 
family,  and  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education.  His  relative, 
Anthony  Parmentier,  was  the  individual  that  introduced  the  potato  in 
France.  Pecuniary  losses  induced  Mr.  Parmentier,  who  was  a  merchant,  to 
come  to  this  country,  in  1824.  Stopping  a  while  in  New  York  city,  he  was 
finally  induced  by  his  passion  for  botanical  pursuits,  to  devote  himself  to  garden- 
ing on  a  scale  heretofore  almost  unknown  in  this  section.  Refusing  the  super- 
intendence of  the  once  famous  Botanical  Garden  of  New  York,  which  was 
urgently  pressed  upon  him  by  Dr.  Hosack  and  others,  he  selected  and  purchased 
in  Brooklyn,  this  tract  of  twenty-five  acres,  lying  between  the  Jamaica  and 
Flatbush  roads,  on  the  4th  of  October,  1825,  for  the  sum  of  $4,000. 
Although  beautifully  and  advantageously  located,  the  surface  of  these 
grounds  was  a  bed  of  rocks,  some  of  which  were  used  in  enclosing  the 
garden  with  a  wall.  In  a  brief  time,  Mr.  Parmentier  erected  a  dwelling 
and  garden  house,  and  stocked  the  land  with  a  great  variety  of  trees  and 
plants,  useful  and  ornamental,  indigenous  and  exotic.  The  garden  soon 
grew  into  importance  and  developed  beauties,  which  attracted  large  numbers 
of  visitors,  from  all  quarters. 


174  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In  this  garden  the  Morus  Multicaulis  plant  was  first  introduced  into 
America  by  Mr.  Parmentier,  whose  enthusiastic  devotion  to  floral  pursuits 
promised  brilliantly  for  his  own  interests,  as  well  as  for  the  public  benefit. 
But,  to  the  great  regret  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  who  sympathized  with 
his  hopes  and  aspirations,  he  was  cut  off  by  death,  on  the  27th  of  November, 
1830,  after  a  brief  illness.  His  estimable  widow,  who  is  still  living  in  this 
city,  strove  hard  to  continue  the  business  j  but  failing  in  her  endeavors, 
in  consequence  of  the  death  of  her  only  son,  was  finally  obliged  to  dispose 
of  the  trees  and  plants,  and  the  grounds,  once  occupied  by  their  attractive 
garden,  were  cut  up  into  building  lots  and  streets.  Mr.  Parmentier,  we  may 
add,  was  of  a  buoyant,  active  temperament,  eminently  kindly  and  social  in 
his  disposition,  finding  his  chiefest  pleasures  in  the  home  circle  and  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  floral  pursuits.  He  was,  also,  an  excellent  musician,  and 
possessed  artistic  powers  of  no  mean  quality,  as  displayed  in  many  sketches 
and  drawings  made  by  him,  and  which  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing, 
in  the  possession  of  his  family. 

Following  the  old  Jamaica  turnpike,  as  it  ran  through  fields, 
farms  and  woods,  we  come,  at  length  to  Bedford  corners,  described 
by  plate  and  map,  etc.,  pages  158,  266,  and  267,  of  our  first 
volume.1  It  was,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  view  presented  in  that 
volume,  a  simple,  forest-environed  cluster  of  ancient,  low-browed 
Dutch  houses,  presenting  a  scene  of  quiet  beauty  which  has  but 
lately,  and  reluctantly,  yielded  its  charms  to  the  rude  embrace  of 
brick  and  mortar,  gas  lights  and  street  cars.  Bedford  corners 
was  especially  the  seat  of  the  LefTerts  family,2  the  principal  mem- 
ber of  which,  sixty  years  ago,  was 

1  In  an  interlined  copy  of  Furman's  Notes  on  Brooklyn,  which  formerly  belonged 
to  that  author,  we  find  the  following  note,  in  his  handwriting  :  "  The  first  act  passed 
under  the  English  government  for  dividing  the  colony  was  November  1,  1683.  By 
this  act,  Kings  county  was  declared  to  contain  the  several  towns  of  Boshwyck,  Bed- 
ford, Brooklyn,  Flatbush,  Flatlands,  New'  Utrecht  and  (iravesend,  with  the  several 
settlements  and  plantations  adjacent. 

Bedford,  named  as  a  separate  town  in  1683,  does  not  seem  to  have  retained  its 
individual  existence  for  any  considerable  period." 

2  LEFFERT  PIETERSE  ( Van  Hagewout)  came  to  New  Netherland,  from  Holland, 
in  1660  {Doe.  Hist.,  1, 659).  The  family  surname  was  originally  pronounced  Laffi  rt 
There  is  a  Brunswick  family  surnamed  Von  Laffert,  and  there  is  a  town  of  Le  F  rde 
in  the  same  principality  ;  but  there  is  no  trace  of  any  connection  between  these  and 
the  Holland  immigrants.     Leffert,  Laffert,  or  Lefford,  signifies  loaf  or  bread  giver, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  175 

LsFFERT  LepPEETS,  Esq.,  or  Judge  LeffertS,  as  he  was  usually  called. 
who  resided  in  the  old  Lefferts  house  on  the  south-west  corner  of  the  cross 
roads.  He  was  the  fifth  child  of  Squire  Leffert  Lefferts  and  Dorothy, 
(laughter  of  John  Coweuhoven,  and  was  born   April  12th,  1774.     lie  was. 


which  is  also  the  root  of  the  English  word  Lord.  Pieterse  means  son  of  Peter. 
lhiiji  trout,  or  Hedgewood,  was  probably  the  name  of  some  hamlet  in  Holland  where 
the  family  had  been  settled.  Pieterse  probably  had  relatives,  for  there  was  a  Leffert 
Btephense  Hagewowt,  who  settled  in  Hempstead  at  an  early  date,  whose  descendants 
bore  the  surname  of  Lefferts.  The  final  s  meant  again,  son  of  Leffert,  and  has  now 
become  a  part  of  the  name.  But  little  is  known  concerning  Pieterse  except  that  he 
owned  seventeen  morgcns  of  land  in  Flatbush,  in  1675,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
and  that  he  resided  thereon  (Doc.  Hist.,  n,  504  ;  iv,  153).  He  was  a  constable  in 
1692  (Road  Rec,  i).  He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Auke  (Augustus)  Janse  Van 
Nuyse  (by  his  second  wife  Eva  Janse),  who  emigrated  about  1651  (Dor.  Hist.,  in, 
136  ;  Bergen  Geneal.,  109,  158).  He  died  December  8,  1704.  His  wife  Abigail  (born 
about  1654),  died  July  19,  1748.  Children  :  Aeltie,  b.  June  2, 1676  ;  d.  mini.,  July 
15,  1735  ;  Auke,  b.  April  4,  1678,  m.  (1)  May  29,  1703,  Marytie  Ten  Eyck,  (2)  July 
30,  1735,  Catharine  Vauk  ;  Peter,  b.  May,  18,  1680,  d.  March  13,  1774 ;  m.  about 
1731,  Ida  (daughter  of  Hendrik)  Suydani ;  had  daughter  Ida,  b.  Sept.,  15, 1751,  who 
became  2d  wife  of  Rem  Coweuhoven,  June  18,  1773,  and  died  Dec.  2,  1777,  leaving 
a  daughter  Sarah,  b.  January  28,  1775,  who  m.  John  Lefferts  of  Bedford  ;  Kachel, 

b.  January  17,  1682,  d.  before  1698  (?) ;  Jan,  b.  January  14, 1684,  m.  Margrieta ; 

Jacobus1,  b.  June  3,  1686 ;  Isaac,  b.  May  15,  1688,  d.  Oct.,  18,  1746,  m.  Harmpje 

,  had  4  children  (Bergen  Geneal.,  109,  110,  133);  Abraham,  b.  Sept.  1. 

1692,  m.  Sarah ,  lived  in  N.  Y.  (Valentine's  Manual,  1865,  p.  747)  ;  Mag- 

dai.kwv,  b.  August  20,  1694,  m.  Garret  Martense  of  Flatbush  (Bergen  Geneal.,  123) ; 
Ann,  b.  March  1,  1696,  m.  May  7,  1748,  to  Gerrit  Kowenhoven  (?)  (Annals  Newtown, 
364 ;  Bergen  Geneal.,  147) ;  Abigail,  b.  August  24,  1698,  d.  Nov.  17, 1704 ;  Leffert, 
b.  May  22,  1701,  m.  Catryntie  Dorland,  Nov.  15,1724,  d.  Sept.  27,  1774;  Benjamin, 
b.  May  2,  1704,  d.  Nov.  17,  1707. 

Jacobus1,  the  only  one  of  the  family  who  settled  in  Brooklyn,  located  at  Bedford 
corners,  living  in  a  house  on  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Jamaica  and  Clove  roads, 
on  a  small  tract  to  which  he  added  by  purchase ;  and  owned,  also,  farms  near  at 
hand.  He  married,  Oct.  7,  1716,  Jannetie  (daughter  of  Barent)  Blom,  who  was  born 
January  18,  1694.     He  died  Sept.  21,  1754,  and  his  wife  afterwards  married  Peter 

Luyster.     Children  :  Nicholas,  b.   April  6,  1718,  m.  April  26,  1746,  Abigail , 

who  d.  Nov.  25,  1760.  He  died  May  13,  1780.  They  had  two  daughters,  Jannetie, 
b.  Sept.  13, 1747,  m.  Nov.  1766,  Jacob  Sebring,  and  d.  April  19, 1772,  leaving  children, 
Catryna,  b.  July  9, 1751,  d.  Sept.  18,  1754.  Leffert2,  b.  March  14, 1727  ;  Jacobus,  b. 
Nov.  26,  1731 ;  m.  (1)  1756,  Mary  Vanderhuyl  (?)  (N.  Y.  Marriages,  229),  (2)  1772, 
Locretia  (daughter  of  Joris)  Brinckerhoff.  He  was  a  prominent  merchant  in  X< m 
York,  and  d.  July  20, 1792,  leaving  children  ;  Barext,!).  Nov.  12,  1736,  m.  1757,  Phebe 
or  Femmetje  (2d  child  of  Rem)  Remsen  (X  Y.  Marriages,  229,  Annals  Newtown,  392.) 
He  lived  at  Bedford  corners,  on  north-east  corner,  Jamaica  and  Cripplebush  roads  on  his 


176  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

therefore,  nine  years  old  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  often, 
in  after  life,  narrated  incidents  connected  with  the  occupation  of  his  father's 
house,  by  the  officers  of  the  troops  encamped  at  Bedford.  General  Grey 
resided  there  for  some  years,  and  Judge  Lefferts  said  that  Major  Andre 


father-in-law's  property  and  owned  much  land  in  the  neighborhood.     He  d.  June  21, 

1819,  had  son  Rem  who  m.  (1) Remsen  of  New  Lotts,  (2)  Maria  (daughter  of 

Adolphus)  Brower  of  Gowanus,  and  son  Jacobus,  who  d.  unmarried  ;  Abigail,  m. 
Lambert  (son  of  Hendrik)  Suydam  of  Bedford.  He  was  captain  of  a  troop  of  horse 
in  1749,  died  in  1767,  and  his  widow  m.  Nicholas  Vechte,  in  1772.  He  had  2  sons 
and  3  daughters  (See  Annals  Newtown,  323),  Hendrik  d.  at  Bedford,  unm.,  Dec.  26, 
1789  ;  Bermetie,  d.  single,  aged  90,  Feb.  1,  1826 ;  Jane,  m.  Gilliam  Cornell  (of  Bucks 
Co.,  Pa.) ;  Ida,  m.  Martin  Schenck  ;  Jacobus,  b.  Dec.  4, 1758,  m.  Adriana  (daughter  of 
Cornelius)  Rapelje,  who  d.  June  11,  1825,  leaving  many  children ;  Aeltje,  m.  Jacob 
Vanderbilt ;  Eliza,  m.  Hendrik  Fine  of  Bedford,  left  issue ;  Jannetie,  b.  Jan.  21, 
1729,  m.  (1)  Jeronimus  Rapalje,  b.  Feb.  22,  1723,  d.  March  13,  1795,  left  a  daughter 
Jannetie  ;  (2)  Sophia  Thorne,  descendants  in  St.  Johns,  N.  B. 

Leffert2,  m.  Dorothy  (daughter  of  John)  Cowenhoven,  August  5,  1756.  She  was 
b.  Feb.  8,  1738,  and  d.  August  17, 1816.  He  held  several  county  offices,  and  as  county 
clerk  had  charge  of  the  county  and  town  records  which  were  taken  from  his  house  a 
few  days  after  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  during  his  absence,  by  his  clerk  John 
Rapalj  e.  His  house  was  occupied  as  headquarters,  by  the  British  general,  Gray,  during 
the  occupation  of  Brooklyn,  1776-1783.  He  d.  July  10, 1804.  Children  :  Jacobus, 
b.  August  9,  1757 ;  m.  August  7,  1780,  Maria  (daughter  of  Johannes)  Lott,  of  New 
Utrecht ;  d.  Sept.  4,  1799.  John,  m.  (1)  Catharine  (daughter  of  Robert)  Bensen,  of 
New  York,  by  whom  he  had  3  children  (2)  Maria  Kissam,  no  issue ;  Leffert,  m. 
Cynthia  (daughter  of  Peter)  Lefferts  of  Flatbush,  had  Maria  and  Phebe,  who  m.  suc- 
cessively Jerornus,  son  of  Gen.  Jeremiah  Johnson,  of  the  Wallabout ;  James  and  John, 
single  ;  Maria,  m.  John  (Son  of  Peter)  Lefferts  of  Flatbush,  had  John  who  m.  Eliza 
(daughter  of  Col.  James)  Lefferts,  and  had  several  children,  and  Gertrude  who  m.  Hon. 
John  Vanderbilt  of  Flatbush,  and  has  a  son ;  Catryna,  b.  July  30,  1759,  d.  single, 
April  17,  1783,  killed  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  pistol  which  she  was  placing 
on  the  top  of  a  closet  out  of  the  way  of  the  children  (Onderdonk's  Rev.  Incidents 
of  Kings  Co.) ;  John3,  b.  May  24,  1763,  lived  in  Bedford  ;  Jane,  b.  Dec.  28,  1767, 
d.  Sept.  27,  1776  ;  Leffert,  b.  April  12,  1774,  m.  April  21,  1823,  Maria  (daughter  of 
Robert)  Benson  of  New  York.  (For  biography  see  above).  Had  one  child  Elizabeth 
D.,  who  m.  J.  C.  Brevoort,  Esq.,  son  of  Henry  Brevoort,  of  New  York,  and  has 
one  son,  lives  on  the  old  place. 

JOHN3,  m.  Sarah,  (only  child  of  Maj.  Rem)  Cowenhoven,  by  his  second  wife,  Ida 
Lefferts,  b.  June  8, 1775,  d.  April  1,  1856.  Lived  at  Bedford.  Children,  Leffert,  b. 
1791,  m.  a  daughter  of  Judge  Kissam  of  New  York,  had  issue  ;  Catharine,  b.  1797, 

m.   John   Laidlaw,   had  issue  ;  Nicholas,  b.  1799,  m.   Maria ,  had  issue ; 

James,  b.  1800,  m.  Eliza  Jones  of  Newtown,  had  issue ;  John,  b.  1804,  in.,  but  no 
descendants ;  Sarah,  b.  1805,  m.  A.  O.  Millard,  has  2  sons ;  Rem,  b.  1807,  m.,  no 
issue  ;  Cornelia,  b.  1811,  m.  Robert  B.  Lefferts,  son  of  John,  of  New  Utrecht,  no  issue. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  177 

wa-  also  a  resident  for  some  time,  and  that  the  letter  from  Gen.  Howe, 
calling  him  to  New  Yrork,  to  undertake  the  fatal  expedition  to  West  Point, 
found  him  at  this  house.  He,  also,  remembered  a  conversation  between 
two  young  ladies  of  the  family,  in  Dutch,  which  they  supposed  Andre  could 
not  understand,  when  he  interrupted  them  by  speaking  in  the  same  language, 
Rationing  them  against  talking  gossip  about  their  guests.  When  peace 
was  declared,  and  the  officers  were  packing  up  to  leave,  the  judge,  then 
nine  years  old,  and  who  had  been  much  petted  and  noticed  by  them,  asked 
why  they  left.  (;  Because  you  Yankees  have  beaten  us."  "  Then  fight  it 
over  again,"  said  the  young  loyalist.  He  was  graduated,  May  7,  1794,  at 
Columbia  College,  resided  in  New  York  during  the  period  of  his  studies,  in 
the  family  of  an  aunt,  who  had  married  Robert  Benson,  the  brother  of 
Judge  Egbert  Benson,  and  for  many  years  the  clerk  of  the  city.  In  January, 
1798,  Mr.  Lefferts  was  admitted  attorney  in  the  court  of  common  pleas  and 
i  i  rle  supreme  court,  having  pursued  his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  Judge 
E  b  rt  Benson.  On  the  5th  of  April,  1800,  he  was  appointed  county  clerk, 
an  office  which  his  father  had  also  held.  At  this  period,  the  clerk  kept  the 
records  at  his  own  residence,  and  the  office  was  on  the  upper  floor  in  the 
west  room  of  the  old  house,  on  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Bedford  cross 
roads.  In  1805,  he  was  appointed  a  commissioner  in  chancery ;  and,  on 
Feb.  10th,  1823,  first  judge  of  Kings  county,  succeeding  Judge  William 
Furman,  which  office  he  held  for  a  few  years  only.  Judge  Lefferts  was 
always  much  interested  in  politics,  but  never  sought  any  office  besides  those 
above  mentioned.  He  was  ever  anxious  to  promote  all  that  tended  to 
increase  the  prosperity  of  Brooklyn  j  and,  in  1822,  was  the  leader  of  a  pro- 
ject to  obtain  a  bank  charter.  The  Long  Island  Bank,  the  first  in  Brook- 
lyn, was  incorporated  in  1824,  and  he  was  elected  its  president.  He 
remained  at  the  head  of  the  institution  until  1846,  when  his  increasing 
infirmities  constrained  him  to  resign  the  position  and  responsibilities,  which 
he  had  so  long  held,  with  honor  to  himself,  and  with  the  approval  of  all  with 
whom  his  official  duties  brought  him  in  contact.  His  uprightness,  kind 
nature  and  pleasant  gentlemanly  manners,  are  well  remembered  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  rendered  him  the  representative  man  of  the  best  Dutch 
society  in  Brooklyn,  at  that  day.     He  died  March,  22,  1847. 


23 


178  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


Walk  the  Sixth,  down  the  old  Gowanus  road  to  the  Denton  and 
Ireecke  mill-ponds,  and  thence  along  the  Bay  shore  to  the  New  Utrecht 
town  line. 

Leaving  the  Flatbush  turnpike,  just  above  the  toll-gate,  we 
take  the  road  to  Gowanus  (established  in  1704),1  which  ran 
southerly  in  the  same  general  direction  as  the  present  Fifth 
avenue  until  it  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Fifth  street, 
where  it  deflected  south-westerly  towards  the  present  junction  of 
Middle  street  with  Third  avenue,  thence  following  the  line  of 
that  avenue  along  the  shore.  The  first  house,  at  which  we  arrive, 
was  a  low  one-story  building  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  road  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  present  Dean  and  Bergen  streets.  It  stood  on  the 
low  ground,  at  some  distance  from  the  road  ;  and,  together  with  the 
farm  attached,  was  the  property  of  Thomas  Poole,  who  had  pur- 

1  On  March  28th,  1704,  the  commissioners  also  laid  out  a  road  and  landing  place 
at,  or  near,  the  mill  subsequently  known  as  Denton's  mill,  of  which  there  is  the  fol- 
lowing record :  "  One  common  highway  to  Gowanus  mill,  to  begin  from  the  north 
east  corner  of  Leffert  Peterse's  fence,  and  so  along  %\\e  road  westerly,  as  it  is  now  in 
use,  to  the  lane  y*  parts  the  lands  of  Hendrick  Vechte,  and  Abraham  Brower  and 
Nicholas  Brower,  and  soe  all  along  said  lane  as  it  is  now  in  fence  to  the  house  of 
Jurian  Collier,  and  from  thence  along  the  roade  now  in  use  to  the  said  Gowanus 
mill,  being  in  all  four  rod  wide  to  the  said  lane  ;  and  that  there  be  a  convenient 
landing  place  for  all  persons  whatsoever,  to  begin  from  the  southermost  side  of  said 
Gowanus  mill  house,  and  from  said  house  to  run  four  rod  to  the  southward,  for  the 
transportation  of  goods  and  the  commodious  passing  of  travellers ;  and  that  said 
highway  to  said  Gowanus  mill  from  said  house  of  said  Jurian  Collier,  shall  be  two 
rods  only  and  where  it  is  now  in  use ;  said  common  highway  to  be  and  continue 
forever ;  and  further  that  the  fence  and  gate  that  now  stands  upon  the  entrance 
into  said  mill  neck,  for  the  inclosing  and  securing  of  said  neck,  shall  soe  remaine 
and  be  alwayes  kept  soe  inclosed  with  a  fence  and  hanging  gate  ;  and  the  way  to 
said  mill  be  thorow  that  gate  only,  and  to  be  alwaye  shutt  or  put  to  by  all  persons 
that  passes  thorow." 

In  1709,  the  commissioners  laid  out  another  road  and  landing  place,  at  or  near  the 
mill  subsequently  known  as  Fieeck's.  The  record  is  as  follows :  "  One  common 
highway  to  begin  from  the  house  of  Jurian  Collier  to  the  new  mill  of  Nicli(  »las 
Brower,  now  sett  up  on  Gowanus  mill  neck  soe  called,  as  the  way  is  now  in  use  along 
said  neck  to  said  mill  to  be  of  two  rod  wide ;  and  that  there  shall  be  a  landing 
place  by  said  mill  in  the  most  convenient  place  for  the  transportation  of  goods 
and  the  commodious  passing  of  travellers,  and  said  highway  and  landing  place  to 
be,  remaine  and  continue  forever."    {Old  Road  Book). 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  170 

chased  it  from  Thomas  Baisley.  At  the  period  of  which  we  write, 
it  was  occupied  by  Van  Houten,  a  milkman. 

A  little  beyond  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Wycoff  and  Warren  streets,  was  the  two-story  house 
of  Mr,  Willetts,  a  retired  merchant,  built  in  a  style  and  with  pre- 
tensions above  the  ordinary  farm  houses. 

The  next  house  on  the  same  side  of  the  road  was  an  old  one- 
story  building,  standing  several  hundred  feet  back  from  the  road 
and  with  a  fine  cherry  orchard  in  front,  belonging  to  Adolphus 
Browcr  and  occupied  by  tenants.  Adolphus,  or  Dolph  Brower's 
residence,  a  modern  two-story  house,  stood  next,  on  the  same 
farm,  near  the  road ;  and,  nearly  opposite,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
road,  John  Ham  built  a  fine  two-story  house,  standing  several 
hundred  feet  back  from  the  road ;  and  there  he  resided  in  style  so 
long  as  the  money  lasted,  to  which  he  had  fallen  heir  —  finally 
ending  his  life  in  poverty  —  his  last  occupation  being  that  of 
driving  a  swill-cart.  Ham's  house,  erected  after  1815,  was  burned 
a  few  years  ago.  Brower's  and  Ham's  houses  were  located  near 
the  line  of  the  present  Butler  street. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  road,  after  passing  Brower's,  we  come 
(near  the  present  Degraw  street)  to  the  residence  and  premises  of 
Tom  Poole,  farmer,  milkman  and  keeper  of  a  small  grocery  and 
tavern.  He  was  a  rough,  and  rather  uncouth  man,  who  had  been 
the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  had  accumulated  a  very 
considerable  property  before  his  death.  Having  lost  his  son,  a 
promising  boy,  who  died  in  early  manhood  —  Poole  entailed  the 
fee  of  the  greater  portion  of  his  property  (mainly  in  real  estate) 
upon  his  grandchildren,  leaving  the  use  during  life  to  his  surviv- 
ing children  —  the  effect  of  which  has  been  that  the  increased 
taxes  and  assessments,  caused  by  the  growth  of  the  city,  absorb- 
ing all  the  income  and  more,  have  left  some  of  his  children  in 
want. 

Proceeding  along  the  same  side  of  the  road,  close  to  Poole's, 
and  belonging  to  him,  stood  an  ancient  stone  house,  occupied  by 
tenants.  It  had  previously  belonged  to  Thomas  Parsells,  a  black- 
smith, who  had  owned  and  cultivated  a  small  farm  here.  The 
walls  of  this  house  are  still  standing. 


180  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

We  next  come,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  between  the 
present  Union  and  Sackett  streets,  to  Jeremiah,  (or  Jerry)  Brower's, 
who  owned  a  few  acres,  afterwards  bought  by  Jaques  Cortelyou. 
When  he  sold  out,  Jerry  removed  to  New  Utrecht  lane  where  his 
wife  owned  a  small  farm.  Some  of  his  neighbors  nicknamed  him 
the  pad  beest  or  road  animal,  because  he  spent  so  much  time 
upon  the  road  traveling  between  his  Brooklyn  and  New  Utrecht 
possessions.  Funny  stories  are  yet  related  among  the  old  people, 
of  his  miserly  disposition  and  the  domestic  economies  which  he 
inflicted  upon  his  wife  and  family.  The  Browers,  at  one  time, 
owned  most  of  the  land  in  this  vicinity,  but  with  Dolph  and  Jerry 
their  ownership  ended. 

Next,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  in  the  vicinity  of  President 
street,  we  come  to  the  house  of  old  Theodorus  Polhemus,  sl  fine  affair 
in  its  day,  and  yet  standing.  It  was  afterwards  occupied  by  his  son 
Theodorus,  known  in  those  days  as  Young  Dorus,  who  died  two 
or  three  years  ago.  The  Polhemuses  were  farmers,  owning  a  large 
tract,  which,  by  the  wonderful  rise  of  property,  has  enriched  their 
descendants. 

On  the  corner  of  the  Gowanus  road  and  the  Port  road  leading 
to  Flatbush  (near  Macomb  street),  stood  a  long  one-story  building, 
one  end  occupied  as  a  school  room,  and  the  other  by  a  family — 
Jo'  Tilton,  a  farm  laborer,  occupying  it  at  this  period.  Owing  to 
the  sparse  population  of  the  neighborhood,  and  the  consequent 
small  number  of  children  thereabouts,  the  school  was  not  kept 
very  regularly. 

On  the  opposite  corner  stood  a  house  occupied  by  William  (or 
Bill)  Furman,  as  a  tavern.  He  had  the  misfortune,  about  the 
time  of  which  we  write  (1815),  to  accidently  shoot  his  son,  Garret, 
a  young  man  about  grown,  while  out  together  gunning  in  a  boat 
on  Flatbush  bay.  To  add  to  the  horror  of  the  case,  the  two  being 
out  alone,  he  was  obliged  to  row  the  body  of  his  son  ashore,  and 
it  was  said  that  he  never  recovered  from  the  shock. 

Branching  off  westerly  from  the  Gowanus  road,  at  this  point, 
was  the  road  leading  to  Denton  and  Freecke's  mills.  On  this  we 
notice  the  fine  houses,  first  of  Nehemiah  Denton,  near  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  present  Powers  and  Carroll  streets,  and  next  that  of  John 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  181 

C.  Freecke  near  the  intersection  of  Kevins  and  Union  streets,  each 
having  a  tide  mill  attached  to  his  premises.  Both  of  these,  mills, 
formerly  known  as  Brower's  were  employed  in  the  flouring  busi- 
ness, they  buying  the  principal  portion  of  the  wheat  raised  in  the 
county.  Both  Denton  and  Freecke  had  been  merchants,  were 
reputed  to  be  rich,  and  were  among  the  first  in  Brooklyn,  who 
Bade  use  of  coaches,  or  barouches.  In  addition  to  the  residences 
of  these  gentlemen,there  were  two  or  three  small  houses  on  this 
road,  occupied  by  their  millers  and  coopers. 

Freecke's  mill,  otherwise  known  as  Brower's,  or  the  old  Gow- 
anus  mill,  was  the  oldest  in  the  town  ;  and,  until  recently,  portions 
of  its  dam  were  easily  discernible  between  Third  and  Fourth 
avenues.  Its  history  is  given  on  pages  99  and  100,  and  its  por- 
trait preserved  on  the  margin  of  the  battle  map  of  our  first  volume. 
In  the  picture  referred  to,  Denton's  mill,  or  as  it  was  called  the 
Yellow  mill,  is  seen  in  the  distance ;  and  its  history  and  location 
is  also  given  on  page  100  of  the  first  volume. 

Both  mills  are  closely  associated  with  the  tragic  incidents, 
which  marked  the  closing  rout  of  the  American  forces,  at  the 
battle  of  Brooklyn,  August  27th,  1776,  and  it  was  the  Yellow 
mills,  which  together  with  the  bridge,  was  set  on  fire,  by  a  panic- 
stricken  New  England  officer,  who  having  secured  the  retreat  of 
his  own  men,  took  this  means  to  prevent  pursuit  by  the  enemy  — 
with  an  utter  disregard  for  the  safety  of  his  fugitive  compatriots, 
who  were  to  follow. 

"  Denton's  Pond  "  says  Mr.  Field1  "  was  the  subject  of  a  curious 
contract  about  1709,  between  its  original  proprietors,  Abram  and 
Nicholas  Brower,  and  Nicholas  Yechte,  the  builder  and  occupant 
of  the  old  1699,  or  Cortelyou  house.  With  the  strong  predilection 
of  his  race,  for  canals  and  dikes  and  water  communications,  old 
Yechte  added  the  traits  of  eccentricity  and  independence.  His 
house  stood  on  a  bank  a  few  feet  above  the  Salt  meadow,  at  a 
distance  of  a  hundred  yards  from  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
creek.  To  secure  access  to  them,  from  his  kitchen  door,  Yechte 
dug  a  narrow  canal  to  the  creek,  but  the  ebb  tide  often  left  his 

1  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manuals  for  1867  and  '09. 


182  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

b^  t  firmly  sunk  in  the  mud,  when  he  wished  to  reach  the 
city  market  with 'the  produce  of  his  farm.  He,  therefore,  con- 
tracted with  the  Browers  to  supply  him  with  water  from  their 
pond,  and  a  channel  was  dug,  in  furtherance  of  his  scheme,  to  a 
water  gate,  through  which  his  canal  was  to  be  flooded.  The  old 
Dutch  farmer  was  accustomed  to  seat  himself  in  his  loaded  boat, 
while  it  was  resting  in  the  mud  of  the  empty  channel,  and  hoist 
his  paddle  as  a  signal  to  his  negro  servant  to  raise  the  gate.  The 
flood  soon  floated  his  boat,  and  bore  him  out  to  the  creek,  exult- 
ing with  great  glee  over  his  neighbors,  whose  stranded  boats 
must  await  the  next  flood.  The  contract  for  this  privilege,  as 
well  as  another,  by  which  Vechte  leased  the  right  to  plant  the 
ponds  with  oysters,  are  in  possession  of  Mr.  Arthur  Benson." 

Returning  to  the  Gowanus  road,  we  find,  on  the  south-west 
corner,  the  house  of  Joe  Poole,  a  Jerseyman  by  birth,  and  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  who  subsequently  sold  out  and  removed  to  a 
farm  which  he  purchased  at  English  Neighborhood,  N"  J. 

Proceeding  down  the  road,  we  come,  on  its  east  side  to  the  Cortel- 
you  or  Vechte  house  (ante,  Vol.  I,  56),  still  standing ;  but,  from 
appearances  (1869),  destined  soon  to  disappear.1  At  the  time  of 
which  we  write,  it  was  occupied  by  Adrian  and  Jaques  Cortelyou. 

On  the  block  between  Second  and  Third  streets,  and  about  a 
hundred  feet  east  of  Fifth  avenue,  was  a  small  private  burial  place, 
apparently  that  of  the  Cowenhoven  family.  The  earliest  date  of 
the  one  or  two  remaining  monuments  is  that  of  Nicolces  Kowenhoe- 
ven,  February,  1792.  The  pick  and  spade  are  rapidly  leveling  the 
little  knoll  on  which  it  stands. 

Next,  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  and  between  the  present 
Fifth  and  Sixth  streets  was  a  house,  originally  built  by  Tunis 
Tiebout,  belonging  to  Theodorus  Polhemus  and  still  standing,  being 
known  as  the  Schoonmaker  house,  from  a  more  recent  resident. 


1  The  iron  figures  on  the  west  gable  of  this  house,  which  gave  it  its  cognomen  of 
the  1699  house,  were  removed  by  parties  unknown  (but  probably  in  the  old  iron 
interest),  in  1868.  The  building  is  now  used  as  a  stable  ;  the  old  spring,  represented 
in  the  engraving,  still  flows,  but  is  choked  and  neglected.  Ruin,  speedy  and  irreme- 
diable has  seized  upon  this  finest  specimen  of  old  Brooklyn,  which  time  had  left  us, 
and  which  a  little  thoughtful  care  might  have  preserved. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  183 

Next  beyond,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  between  Ninth  and 
Tenth  streets,  was  the  house  of  Cornelius  Van  Brunt,  on  a  farm 
which  he  purchased  from  the  Staats  family.  Mr.  Van  Brunt  was 
a  man  highly  respected,  and  one  of  the  main  pillars  in  the  Dutch 
church  of  Brooklyn. 

Opposite  to  his  house,  and  between  Eighth  and  Ninth  streets, 
was  the  residence  of  his  father-in-law,  Bern  Adriance.  After  Mr. 
Adriance's  house,  the  house  was  occupied  by  John  Devancnie^ 
farmer  and  milkman.  Both  the  Van  Brunt  and  Adriance  houses 
have  disappeared  from  their  sites. 

Next,  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  between  Thirteenth  and 
Fourteenth  streets,  was  the  house  of  Mr.  Walter  Berry,  who,  in 
1813,  was  gored  to  death  by  a  bull  which  he  was  fattening.  It 
was,  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  occupied  by  his  son  Richard. 
Walter  bought  this  farm  shortly  after  the  Revolution,  from  the 
heirs  of  Cornelius  Van  Duyne,  and  erected  upon  it  the  house 
which  is  still  standing  perched  upon  a  hill  formed  by  the  grading 
of  lots  and  streets  around  it. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  road,  about  on  line  of  present  Fifteenth 
street  on  the  adjoining  farm,  stood  a  house  formerly  occupied  by 
Derick  and  Deborah  Bergen,  and  afterwards  by  Joseph  (or  Josey) 
Smith  who  had  married  their  daughter  Jemima  or  Jacomintje. 
This  building,  which  is  yet  standing,  although  in  a  metamorphized 
form,  was  originally  erected  on  the  Cortelyou  property,  at  the 
Narrows  ;  but  was  taken  apart  and  removed  by  water  to  its  pre- 
sent site  on  the  purchase  of  this  property  by  Derick,  his  wife 
Deborah  being  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Narrows'  Cortelyous. 
Derick  dying  soon  after  his  removal  to  this  place,  the  widow  em- 
ployed the  above  mentioned  Josey  Smith,  a  Jerseyman,  to  work 
the  farm  for  her,  and  he  made  love  to  her  daughter,  whom  he 
married  against  the  mother's  wishes,  and  finally  only  by  an 
elopement.  Josey  and  Jacomintje  union  was  blessed  with  a 
large  family  of  boys  and  girls,  who  were  somewhat  odd  in  their 
ways,  and  of  whom  it  is  related  that  when  they  went  out  riding 
(in  the  farm  wagons  then  in  common  use)  they  used  to  sit  one  on 
a  seat,  Josey  first,  and  the  rest  in  Indian  file,  one  behind  the  other. 
Smith  was  an  industrious  man  and  much  respected  by  his  neighbors. 


184  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Opposite  to  Smith's  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  stood  a  small 
house  occupied  by  Tiesie  Carson,  another  daughter  of  Derick  and 
Deborah  Bergen,  and  widow  of  Ebenezer  Carson.  With  her, 
lived  her  daughter  Deborah,  who,  after  the  mother's  death,  in 
1826,  resided  alone  in  the  house  (still  standing  on  Fifteenth  street), 
miserly  in  her  habits,  and  seldom  allowing  the  foot  of  a  man  to 
cross  the  threshold  of  her  door,  until  her  death,  in  1863,  a  period 
of  thirty-seven  years. 

The  next  house,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  and  still  standing 
on  Sixteenth  street,  was  that  of  Rachel  Berry,  widow  of  Walter, 
before  named,  who  after  her  husband's  death,  built  upon  her  share 
of  her  father,  Derick  Bergen's  farm. 

Proceeding,  we  come,  upon  the  west  side  of  the  road,  to  Peter 
Wyckoff's  house,  still  standing  at  the  corner  of  Hamilton  and 
Third  avenues  and  occupied  by  one  of  his  granddaughters.  Peter 
bought  the  farm  from  the  heirs  of  Cornelius  Van  Duyne,  shortly 
after  the  Revolution;  tore  down  the  old  Van  Duyne  mansion, 
which  stood  on  the  same  site,  and  erected  the  present  dwelling  of 
the  pattern  and  style  then  most  in  vogue  among  the  wealthiest 
farmers  of  the  county. 

The  next  house  stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  between  the 
present  Twentieth  and  Twenty-first  streets)  and  was  occupied  by 
Anthony  Hulse,  the  owner  of  a  large  farm  adjacent.  Tony  Hulse,  as 
he  was  commonly  called,  was  the  terror  of  the  children  of  the 
neighborhood,  in  consequence  of  his  cross  and  surly  disposition,  but 
his  wife  ruled  him  with  a  rod  of  iron.  In  such  good  subjection 
did  she  hold  him  that  he  was  never  allowed  to  come  to  the  table 
and  eat  with  the  family,  and,  at  meal  times,  poor  Tony  sat  in  the 
chimney  corner  and  made  his  meal  of  bread  spread  with  lard 
instead  of  butter.  On  one  occasion,  it  is  related,  when  his  neigh- 
bors, old  Peter  Wyckoff  and  wife,  were  visiting  them  and  were 
invited  to  tea,  Peter,  as  he  took  his  seat  at  the  table,  said  "  Come ! 
Tony,"  on  which  Tony  looked  up  with  astonishment  at  his  wife 
Altie,  saying  "may  I?  may  I?"  On  another  occasion  he  sharply 
rebuked  a  young  married  lady,  a  next  door  neighbor,  who  called 
in  to  see  his  daughter  Marie,  by  asking  "  What !  are  you  on  the 
road  again  spinning  street  yarn  ?  Why  don't  you  stay  at  home 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  185 

and  spiii  and  make  butter  as  Rite  (Marie)  does  ?  "  After  Lis 
wife's  death,  the  old  man  revenged  himself  for  past  deprivations, 
by  the  exactions  and  tricks  which  he  practiced  upon  this  same 
daughter  Marie,  who  kept  house  for  him — on  one  occasion, 
"  scaring  her  half  out  of  her  wits,"  by  the  simulated  rupture  of  a 
blood  vessel,  which  he  produced  by  slyly  chewing  poke  berries, 
and  spitting  out  the  juice.  Tony's  house,  now  demolished,  was  a 
one-story,  low-roofed  building,  without  a  kitchen  wing,  and  with 
a  small  front  porch  and  stoop,  on  which,  in  fine  weather,  the  old 
.man  spent  much  of  his  time.  A  little  beyond  his  dwelling,  on 
the  same  side  of  the  road,  between  Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth 
streets,  stood,  and  yet  stands,  a  one-story  house,  erected  before  the 
Revolution,  for  his  son  John,  who  left  it  before  this  date,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  old  man's  refusal  of  a  sufficient  portion  of  his  farm, 
for  the  support  of  his  family.  Cornelius  Doremus,  a  very  decent 
man,  was  afterwards  employed  by  Tony  to  cultivate  the  farm,  and 
occupied  the  house  which  had  been  John's.  When  Doremus  first 
came,  the  old  man  was  so  well  pleased  with  him,  that  he  called 
him,  by  way  of  endearment  Cornelisje.  After  awhile,  when  the 
novelty  had  worn  off,  he  called  him  u  Corneil;"  but,  finally,  being 
childish  and  hard  to  please  in  his  old  age,  he  commonly  spoke  of 
his  farmer  as  "  Corneil,  from  the  devil." 

Crossing  a  bridge  over  a  small  run  of  water  which  drained  the 
swamp  above,  you  come  to  the  bouse  of  George  Bennett,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  road  a  little  beyond  an  elevation  (vol.  i,  note  1, 
page  271),  known  as  Blokje's  Bergh.  This  house  was  built  shortly 
after  the  Revolution,  and  when  about  building,  George,  who  had 
been  up  the  North  river  to  purchase  lumber,  on  returning  in  the 
night,  while  following  a  foot  path,  a  near  cut  from  the  turn- 
pike to  the  Gowanus  road  near  the  head  of  Freecke's  mill  pond, 
was  beset  by  two  highwaymen  —  but  he  had  the  cunning  to  drop 
his  purse  before  they  laid  hold  of  him,  and  thus  baffled  them  in 
their  object.  They,  however,  left  him  gagged,  in  which  state  he 
made  his  way  to  Tom  Baisley's,  whom  with  difficulty  he  aroused, 
and,  on  searching  recovered  his  purse.  George  Bennett's  house 
is  yet  standing,  on  Third  avenue  near  Twenty-fifth  street,  having 
had  an  additional  story  placed  under  it.     He  had  no  children, 

24 


186  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

was  grasping,  a  great  boaster,  and  his  yarns  were  frequently 
stretched  to  an  interminable  length.  In  going  to  the  rear  of 
his  farm,  which  was  over  a  mile  long,  he  generally  followed  the 
cow  path  on  the  line  between  his  own  and  his  brother  Wynant's 
farm;  and  invariably  employed  himself  on  such  walks,  by  throw- 
ing stones  (which  were  abundant),  as  he  went  along,  over  the 
fence  on  to  Wynant's  side.  This  aroused  the  indignation  of 
Wynant's  sons,  whose  land  had  stones  enough  of  its  own,  and 
they  in  turn,  and  in  self-defense,  employed  their  spare  time  in 
throwing  them  back  again;  and  thus,  endlessly  went  on  this. 
fraternal- war  of  the  stones.  Old  Gowanus  folks  yet  remember 
the  oyster  war  which  arose  from  George's  assumed  claim  to 
all  the  oysters  in  Gowanus  cove,  in  defense  of  which  claim  he 
engaged  the  services  of  a  stout  German  as  fighting  man,  who 
got  seriously  worsted  in  a  passage  at  arms  with  some  of  the 
Dutch  farmers,  as  did  George  also,  in  the  litigation  which 
followed.  For  many  years  George  Bennett,  in  addition  to  farm- 
ing, carried  on  the  fishing  business,  keeping  a  seine  and  a  gang 
of  men  with  a  hut  on  Bompje's  hook,  which  lay  opposite  his 
house.  About  this  time  there  was  a  great  deal  of  searching  for 
Capt.  Kidd's  buried  treasure ;  all  the  little  island  of  upland  in 
the  meadows  between  Red  hook  and  the  main  land  being  dug 
over.  One  night  a  small  sloop  lay  at  anchor  near  Bompje's  hook, 
disappearing  before  morning ;  a  hole  was  found  dug  near  the  fish 
hut,  with  the  imprint  at  its  foot  of  what  resembled  the  bottom 
of  a  chest.  In  addition  to  this  were  the  footmarks  of  men  lifting 
it  out  and  the  marks  of  its  having  been  slid  or  dragged  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  George  and  his  men,  of  course,  naturally  con- 
cluded that  valuable  treasure  had  been  taken  away  from  the 
vicinity  of  their  hut,  and  grievously  lamented  the  fact ;  but  it  is 
probable  it  was  a  sham  got  up  to  create  a  sensation  and  make 
George  uneasy. 

Next,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  was  the  one-story  house 
of  Wynant  Bennet,  built  of  stone,  with  a  kitchen  wing  in  the 
rear,  of  the  same  material.  This  building,  which  in  shape  re- 
sembled the  letter  L,  was  a  very  ancient  one,  erected  at  an  early 
period  by  an  ancestor  of  Wynant's,  and  stood  on  the  edge  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  187 

road  (which  here  ran  along  the  very  brink  of  the  bank  of  the  cove 
or  bay),  with  no  fence  in  front,  being  the  only  one  on  this  road 
Which  was  not  separated  by  a  fence  from  the  highway.  It  stood 
on  the  line  of  the  present  Third  avenue,  near  Twenty-seventh 
street,  and  was  demolished  many  years  ago  when  the  avenue  was 
opened.     Wynant  was  a  one  armed  man.1 

The  next  bouse  was  that  of  the  brothers  Simon  and  Peter 
Schermerhorn  (of  which  a  view  is  given  on  page  52  of  our 
first  volume),  erected  by  the  Bennetts  prior  to  1695 ;  and  yet 
standing  on  Third  avenue  near  Twenty-sixth  street,  but  in  a 
dilapidated  condition.  Simon  and  Peter  were  both  corpulent 
men;  the  former  having  but  one  son,  and  the  latter  several,  one 
of  whom,  Abraham,  came  into  possession  of  the  house  and  farm 
about  the  period  of  which  we  write.  Simon  was  a  testy  old  man, 
hut  a  great  coward.  He  once  quarreled  with  the  wife  of  Wilhel- 
mus  StoothofF,  their  farmer,  and  pointed  his  gun  at  her.  She 
told  him  to  shoot  if  he  dared,  and  she  would  have  the  constable 
after  him ;  whereupon  he  walked  off  on  the  double  quick  in  great 
alarm,  pulling  up  his  small  clothes  as  he  went  along. 

A  little  farther  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  and  on  the  Scher- 
merhorn farm,  there  stood,  and  yet  stands,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Thirtieth  street,  a  house  intended  for  their  foreman,  they  being 
engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  in  New  York  city.  The  house 
was,  at  this  period,  occupied  by  Stephen  Hendrickson,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  George  Powers,  before  mentioned  as  the  owner  of  a 
farm  on  the  Brooklyn  and  Flatbush  turnpike,  near  the  toll-gate. 

On  the  adjoining  farm  stood  the  house  of  Garret  Bergen,  erected, 
it  is  supposed,  some  years  before  the  Revolution,  by  one  of  the 
Bennets,  but  enlarged,  remodelled  and  rebuilt,  about  the  year 
1800,  after  the  property  came  in  possession  of  Tunis  Bergen,  the 
father  of  Garret.  This  house,  which  stood  on  the  westerly  side 
of  the  old  road,  and  was  approached  by  a  lane,  is  yet  standing  on 
Third  avenue,  near  Thirty- third  street,  having  had  a  portico  with 


1  At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  the  Bennets  owned  the  water  front  on  the  Gow- 
anus  cove,  from  Twenty-fifth  to  Thirty-seventh  streets,  inclusive,  and  it  was  probably 
between  Thirty-second  and  Thirty-seventh  streets  that  the  British  reinforcements 
landed  (see  note  1,  p.  278,  vol.  i),  during  the  progress  of  the  battle  of  Brooklyn. 


188  ,  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

columns  added  to  its  front,  and  an  additional  wing  to  its  southerly 
side;  and  is  owned  by  Garret  G.,  son  of  the  Garret,  of  1815. 
Garret  was  generally  known  as  Squire  Bergen,  having  for  many 
years  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  that  of  one  the 
assistant  judges  of  the  county.  He  was  noted  for  keeping  peace 
among  his  neighbors,  always  refusing  a  warrant  while  the  appli- 
cant was  in  a  passion,  putting  him  off,  until  he  had  cooled  down, 
after  which  an  amicable  settlement  was  generally  effected  with 
ease.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  church,  and  a  truly  upright  man, 
whose  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond,  and  whose  conscientious 
life  was  admired  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  sons, 
also,  are  among  our  most  valued  citizens,  viz  :  Hon.  Tunis  G.,  favor- 
ably known  as  a  public  man,  and  an  industrious  genealogist; 
Peter  G.,  a  merchant  in  IsTew  York ;  John  G.,  the  late  able  and 
popular  police  commissioner;  and  Garret  G.,  a  farmer.  His  only 
daughter  married  Mr.  Tunis  S.  Barkeloo. 

The  next  house,  with  some  seven  or  eight  acres  attached,  was 
that  of  the  children  of  John  Cropsey,  who  married  Polly,  a 
daughter  of  Christopher  (or  as  he  was  called  Stoffle)  Bennet,  and 
died  in  1808.  It  was  a  one-story  frame  building,  with  a  wing  on 
its  easterly  side,  and  stood  near  the  easterly  corner  of  the  Gow- 
anus  road  and  Martense's  lane ;  at  a  point  on  the  present  Thirty- 
fifth  street,  about  half-way  between  Third  and  Fourth  avenues. 
Their  grandfather,  Stoffle,  at  this  time  resided  with  them,  and 
had  charge  of  the  family.  He  was  a  tall,  slim  and  stately  gray- 
haired  man  ;  who,  for  many  years,  had  kept  school  in  the  neigh- 
boring school-house.  In  the  wing  of  the  house,  they  kept  a  store 
and  a  small  tavern ;  and  had  a  blacksmith  shop  on  the  corner  of 
the  road,  in  which  Cornelius  Bennet,  at  this  time,  worked.  As 
near  as  can  be  ascertained,  a  tavern  known  as  the  Ked  Lion,  was 
kept  in  this  building,  during  the  Revolution. 

On  the  opposite  corner  of  Martense's  lane,  stood,  and  yet  stands, 
a  small  house  occupied  by  Gysbert  Bogert,  a  fisherman,  whose 
father-in-law,  Abraham  Bennet  gave  to  his  daughter  the  small 
plot  on  which  the  house  stood. 

Next,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  on  a  plot  of  about  an  acre, 
stood  the  house  of  Abraham  Bennet,  deceased,  occupied  by  Caty, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  189 

his  widow,  and  her  sons,  Abraham  and  William,  both  of  whom 
courted  Charlotte  Moulison,  of  Canarsie.  Abraham,  who  was 
fond  of  the  ardent,  was  in  the  habit  of  carrying  a  bottle  with  him 
and  treating  the  old  man,  who  also  liked  a  drop.  Moulison, 
when  asked  by  one  of  his  neighbors,  what  he  thought  of  the  two 
young  men,  replied,  "William  (the  steady  one),  is  a  very  nice 
man ;  but,  Abraham  is  the  man  for  me,"  and  Abraham,  conse- 
quently, won  the  prize,  but  did  not  long  enjoy  it;  and,  after  his 
death,  his  brother  William  married  the  widow. 

After  passing  Abraham  Bennet's  house,  we  come  to  that  of  his 
brother  Anthony,  who  also  owned  a  plot  of  about  an  acre,  after- 
wards owned  by  Abraham  Tysen,  a  Jerseyman,  who  carried  on 
the  shoemaking  and  tanning  business,  his  vats  being  located  in 
the  low  grounds,  near  the  edge  of  the  meadows.  Old  Abraham 
and  Anthony  Bennet,  who  were  not  blessed  with  an  abundance 
of  this  world's  goods,  on  one  occasion  had  a  fat  cow  to  kill  — 
with  them,  an  unusual  occurrence,  and  the  question  arose  how 
they  should  manage  it.  It  was  finally  determined,  after  due 
deliberation,  that,  after  the  animal  was  halted  and  hauled  up  to 
the  bull  ring,  or  killing  post,  Abraham  should  hold  and  drive  the 
axe  to  knock  down  the  cow,  while,  to  make  sure  work,  Anthony 
was  to  take  hold  of  the  blade  and  steer  it.  The  effect  of  this 
masterly  management  was,  that  the  cow  was  struck  on  the  horn 
instead  of  the  head ;  and,  in  her  struggles,  she  broke  loose,  and 
ran  bellowing  away.  On  another  occasion  when  the  two  brothers 
wTere  in  the  woods,  gathering  chestnuts,  the  latter  in  the  tree 
shaking  them  down,  the  limb  on  which  he  was  perched  broke, 
leaving  him  suspended  and  in  a  momentary  danger  of  falling. 
Upon  this  he  sang  out,  with  all  his  might  "  draag  bladeren^ 
Abraham  !  draag  bladeren,  Abraham  !  "  (i.  e.  "  carry  leaves,"  so 
as  to  make  a  soft  place  for  him  to  fall  on).  Abraham  bestirred 
himself,  and  carried  leaves  as  fast  as  possible,  Anthony  managing 
to  hold  on;  until,  finally,  he  fell  down,  the  leaves  breaking  the 
violence  of  his  fall,  and  saving  his  bones. 

On  the  land  of  Simon  Bergen,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road  as 
the  last  house,  and  about  a  hundred  feet  beyond  it,  stood  the 
school-house  of  District  No.  2,  an  old,  one-story  frame  building. 


190  ■  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  predecessor  of  this  school-house,  and  the  first  in  the  district, 
was  a  log  house,  which  stood  near  the  swinging  gate  leading  to 
John  S.  Bergen's,  between  the  Second  and  Third  avenues,  and 
near  Forty-fourth  street.  About  sixty  years  ago,  the  school  was 
kept  by  a  native  of  the  Emerald  isle,  named  Hogan,  who  fell  in 
love  with  one  of  his  female  scholars,  and  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  commit  suicide,  by  cutting  his  throat,  because  neither  she 
nor  her  parents  would  listen  to  his  proposals.  After  Hogan,  the 
school  was  taught  by  a  man  named  Cisley,  who,  to  punish  his 
scholars,  made  a  fool's  cap,  with  a  red  face,  ram's  horns  at  the 
sides,  and  a  cow's  tail  hanging  down  behind  (the  latter  articles 
procured  at  Tysen's  tannery),  which  he  placed  upon  the  head  of 
the  offenders,  and  then  had  him,  or  her,  escorted  around  the 
neighborhood  by  two  of  the  larger  scholars.  This,  however,  did 
not  operate  long;  for,  one  day,  while  they  were  exhibiting  a 
daughter  of  Stephen  Hendrickson,  Mrs.  Hendrickson  happened 
to  meet  them,  and  straightway  seizing  the  scarecrow  cap,  rent  it 
into  tatters,  and  threatened  the  pedagogue  with  her  direst  ven- 
geance, if  such  a  punishment  as  that  was  ever  tried  on  again. 
After  the  failure  of  his  fool's  cap  experiment,  Cisley  used  to 
punish  the  children  by  locking  them  up  in  the  garret,  or  loft  of 
the  school-house,  which  had  no  window,  and  was  entered  by  a 
trap  door.  This,  however,  was  no  great  punishment  for  the 
youngsters,  who  amused  themselves  during  confinement  in  various 
ways ;  among  others,  by  chasing  and  arousing  the  flying  squirrels, 
which  had  their  nests  behind  the  chimney. 

Leaving  the  school-house,  with  all  its  pleasant  associations,  we 
come  next  to  the  old  De  Hart  house  (of  which  a  view  is  given 
opposite  page  52,  vol.  i),  owned  by  Simon  Bergen,  and  now 
occupied  by  Cornells  Bennet,  the  blacksmith.  Simon,  who 
had  but  one  eye,  had  previously  built  a  new  house  in  modern 
style,  on  the  hill  west  of  the  old  house,  in  which  he  resided,  and 
which  was  accidentally  burned  a  few  years  ago.  Both  of  these 
houses  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  bay,  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
road,  and  were  approached  by  a  common  lane.  Simon  was  con- 
sidered a  rich  man,  and  a  good  horseman,  generally  driving  a 
spirited  team  in  such  style  as,  on  some  occasions,  to  excite  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  191 

apprehensions  of  his  wife  Jannetje,  whose  remonstrances  he  would 
effectually  silence  by  offering  her  the  reins. 

We  next  come  to  the  swinging  gate  leading  to  John  S.  Bergen's 
a  brother  of  Simon,  who  resided  in  a  small  house  on  the  banks  of 
the  bay  near  Forty-third  street,  to  which  a  few  years  after  he  built 
a  large  addition,  both  yet  standing. 

The  next  house  was  that  of  Wynant  Van  Pelt,  which  stood  on 
the  east  side  of  the  road  between  Forty-seventh  and  Forty-eighth 
streets,  a  small  building  which  had  never  been  troubled  by  the 
painter. 

After  passing  this  we  come  to  the  lane  leading  to  the  old  Van 
Pelt  mansion,  a  low  roofed  one-story  house  then  occupied  by 
Henry  Van  Pelt;  and,  also,  to  a  small  modern  built  house  occu- 
pied by  Tunis  Van  Pelt,  both  located  near  the  bay  and  Forty- 
seventh  street,  the  former  now  gone,  the  latter  yet  standing. 
Henry,  or  Hank  as  he  was  commonly  called,  was  a  cripple  from  his 
youth,  his  legs  being  in  such  a  state  that  he  was  under  the  neces- 
sity of  walking  on  his  hands  and  feet  like  a  quadruped,  his  hands 
being  protected  by  gloves.  He  used  to  have  a  very  low  wheeled 
wagon,  easy  of  access,  in  which  he  rode,  and  was  quite  a  regular 
attendant  of  the  Dutch  church  of  Brooklyn,  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  He  lived  and  died  a  bachelor.  The  father  of  these  Van 
Pelts  was  Wynant,  who  divided  his  farm  among  four  sons.  They 
were  but  indifferent  farmers,  and  made  their  living  chiefly  by 
fishing.  In  Wynant's  days  it  was  customary  for  old  men  to  wear 
skull-crowned  beaver  hats,  with  a  very  broad  brim,  and  so  well 
made  that  a  hat  would  last  its  wearer  for  years.  It  is  said  that, 
on  one  occasion,  when  the  family  were  on  rather  short  allowance, 
the  old  man,  who  always  dined  as  was  customary  in  that  day, 
with  his  hat  on,  took  it  off*  as  usual  when  about  to  say  grace,  and 
held  it  before  his  face,  and  when  he  had  finished  —  for  the  grace 
was  a  long  one  —  he  was  astonished  and  naturally  very  indignant 
to  find  that  his  stalwart  sons  had  cleared  the  table  of  all  the 
eatables. 

Returning  to  the  main  road  we  come,  on  its  east  side,  near 
present  Forty-eighth  street,  to  the  house  of  Christopher,  or  Chris., 
another  of  the  sons  of  Wynant  Van  Pelt.     It  was  a  shabby  looking 


192,  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

dwelling,  for  Chris,  and  his  wife  Hopy  (Sophia)  possessed  none  of 
that  careful  tidiness  which  is  the  proverbial  attribute  of  their  race. 
He  owned  an  old  gray  horse  which  was  stabled  in  the  cellar,  his 
fowls  roosted  in  the  garret,  and  it  was  reported,  but  probably  an 
exaggeration,  that  his  hogs  slept  in  the  entry. 

Proceeding  along  the  west  side  of  the  road,  we  come  to  the 
swinging  gate  and  lane  leading  to  Peter  Bergen's,  whose  house,  a 
modern  two-story  erection,  with  a  basement,  stood  on  the  banks 
of  the  bay  near  Fiftieth  street.  This  building  now  stands  on  Third 
avenue,  between  Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  streets,  where  it  was  re- 
moved by  Thomas  Hunt,  its  present  owner,  who  also  added 
piazzas  to  it.  Peter  was  the  first  of  the  Bergens  who  turned  out 
in  a  coach. 

The  next  lane  led  to  the  house  of  Michael  Bergen,  a  modern  one- 
story  building,  accidentally  burned  a  few  years  ago,  while  owned 
by  his  son  Lefferts,  who  erected  a  two-story  building  on  its  site, 
standing  on  the  bay,  near  Fifty-third  street. 

The  next  lane  led  to  the  house  of  Theodorus,  sl  son  of  Michael, 
and  commonly  known  as  Dorus  Bergen,  an  ancient  one-story 
building,  partly  constructed  of  stone,  and  which  yet  stands  on  the 
bay,  near  Fifty-first  street.  Dorus  was  a  hard  working  farmer, 
who  allowed  nothing  to  go  to  waste. 

Beyond  his  lane,  was  that  leading  to  Tunis  (or  Major)  Bergen's, 
the  last  house  within  the  bounds  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  a  two- 
story  building,  with  a  wing,  yet  standing  on  the  bay,  near  Fifty- 
eighth  street.  The  major  was  remarkable  for  his  joviality  and 
good  humor  and  was  the  father  of  John  T.  and  Cornelius  Bergen; 
the  former,  for  two  terms,  sheriff  of  the  county  and  at  one  time  a 
member  of  congress. 

This  brings  us  to  the  old  boundary  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  or 
the  present  city  line,  and  concludes  our  walk  in  this  direction. 

We  may  remark,  in  closing,  that  the  most  fashionable  style  of 
houses  among  the  wealthier  farmers  of  the  county,  about 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  of  which  there  are  many 
specimens  yet  extant,  was  a  main  building  of  about  one  story  and 
a  half  in  height,  without  attic  windows,  the  second  story  gaining 
its  light  from  gable  windows ;  the  roof,  with  a  double  pitch,  ex- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  lf*3 

leading  over  the  eaves  some  four  or  five  feet,  in  a  curved  manner, 
-  to  form  a  piazza  and  cover  the  front  and  rear  stoops,  but 
without  columns  for  support.  A  wide  hall  ran  through  the  centre 
of  the  house,  with  two,  and  in  some  instances,  three  rooms  on 
each  side  of  the  hall,  the  upper  story  being  somewhat  similarly 
divided.  A  wing  wTas  generally  added  for  a  kitchen.  On  this 
general  plan  were  the  Tiebout,  Wyckoff,  George  Bennett,  G. 
Bergen,  J.  Bergen  and  M.  Bergen  houses. 


Addenda  to  the  Fifth  Walk,  'page  162. 

Out  from  Bedford  Corners  ran  the  Cripplebush  road,  north- 
easterly to  Xewtown,  and  the  Clove  road  (always  called  by  the 
British,  the  Bedford  pass),  southerly,  through  the  clove  or  cleft, 
in  the  hills.  The  main  Brooklyn  and  Jamaica  road,  which  we 
have  been  thus  far  tracing,  ran  easterly  from  the  Corners,  sinuously 
through  the  old  farms,  that  portion  of  it  which  curved  in  and  out 
among  the  hills  near  east  New  York,  being  especially  known  to 
the  old  inhabitants  as  the  King's  highway.  It  wTas  called  by 
Gen.  Howe,  the  Pass  through  the  Hills.1  Those  wdio  would  enter 
more  fully  into  the  antiquarian  detail  of  this  road,  the  Rockaway 
pass  and  the  Half-way  House,  at  the  junction  of  the  present 
Broadway  with  the  Jamaica  turnpike,  now  Fulton  avenue,  a 
building  which  was  the  flanking  point  of  the  British  army,  in  the 
attack  on  Brooklyn,  in  1776,  will  do  well  to  consult  the  article  by 
Mr.  T.  W.  Field,  in  the  Corporation  Manual  for  1868;  and,  also, 
pages  260-267,  with  accompanying  maps,  viewTs,  etc.,  of  our  first 
volume. 

1From  its  southerly  side  (at  about  the  junction  of  present  Reid  avenue  and  Bain- 
bridge  street),  the  Jamaica  turnpike  threw  off  a  road  southwardly  to  a  meadow  in 
Flatlands,  which  road  was  called  Hunter-fly,  a  corruption  from  Aander  Vly,  or  to 
the  Fly,  or  creek.     (Vol.  I,  page  442). 


25 


194-  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  VILLAGE  FROM  1817  TO  1834,  INCLUSIVE. 

1817.  January.  The  good  people  of  Brooklyn  were,  at  this 
time,  under  much  apprehension  from  certain  powder  magazines 
or  storehouses  on  Fort  Greene ;  and  a  special  town  meeting  was 
held,  at  which  a  committee  was  appointed  to  obtain  relief  in  the 
matter. l 

February.  The  winter  was  very  severe  and  the  ice  so  thick  in 
the  river  as  greatly  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  steamboat  em- 
ployed on  the  ferry.  "  On  the  4th,"  says  the  Star,  "  the  thermometer 
stood  at  twenty-six  degrees  below  freezing  point.  Our  steamboat 
and  barges  crossed  the  ferry  as  usual,  until  a  large  field  of  ice  came 
in  on  the  flood  tide  and  wedged  in  the  ferry  between  Peck  slip  and 
the  steamboat  wharf.  On  this  natural  bridge,  we  believe,  thousands 
crossed,  among  whom  were  some  females,  and  the  novel  and 
beautiful  spectacle  attracted  general  attention.  After  about  two 
hours  the  ebb  tide  started  the  ice,  and  those  who  were  on  the  ice 
found  no  difficulty  in  getting  ashore  in  boats.  Such  an  instance 
has  not  occurred  in  thirteen  years  past."  For  about  two  weeks, 
the  ice  was  so  solid  between  Governor's  island  and  the  Long 
island  shore  that  it  was  crossed  by  sleighs  and  horses,  and  on  the 
19th,  the  harbor  was  closed  by  ice,  both  at  the  Narrows  and  at 
Hurlgate.  As  was  to  be  expected,  disagreements  arose  between 
the  public  and  the  ferry  company,  which  gave  rise  to  several  town 
and  public  meetings  on  ferry  rights.  Flour  at  this  time  was  as 
high  as  $15  per  barrel,  and  there  was  also  much  distress  among 
the  poor,  which  aroused  the  generous  sympathy  and  exertions  of 
the  citizens.     A  Brooklyn  Humane  Society  was  formed  March  26th 

1 C.  and  J.  Sands  established  a  magazine  for  the  storage  of  powder  at  about  north- 
west corner  Jay  and  Water  streets  in  Brooklyn,  in  1780.  In  1804,  they  were  indicted 
before  King's  county  sessions,  for  storing  that  article  within  the  fire  limits. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  195 

and  a  soup  house  established  (west  of  the  Old  Ferry,  next  to  Thos. 
Event's  tanyard)  from  which,  under  the  direction  of  Burdet  Stryker, 
two  to  three  hundred  rations  were  distributed  daily.  Messrs.  M or- 
cein, Treadwell,  Wise,  Tucker,  Bach,  Spooner,  Garrison  and  G. 
Hicks  were  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the  citizens,  and 
solicit  contributions  for  the  needy.  Poor  persons  were  also  invited 
to  apply  to  the  committee  of  relief,  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs. 
Henshaw,  Ireland,  Crawford  and  Woodhull,  Drs.  Hunt  and  Ball, 
Capt  Henshaw  and  Messrs.  Remsen,  Sands  and  Carter.  At  the 
end  of  the  first  fiscal  year  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  April  23d, 
a  balance  of  $54.50  remained  in  the  treasurer's  hands,  and  being 
a  balance  of  moneys  received  by  the  trustees  as  commissioners  of 
excise,  it  was  ordered  to  be  paid  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor  for 
the  use  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn. 

May.  The  first  election  for  village  officers  was  sharply  contested 
against  the  old  trustees,  in  consequence  of  their  having  allowed 
their  names  to  be  inserted  in  the  act  of  incorporation.  No  poli- 
tical party  question  entered  into  the  canvass.  Both  tickets 
embraced  five  candidates  from  each  of  the  political  parties,  and 
the  election  resulted  in  favor  of  the  opponents  of  village  incorpo- 
ration, who  elected  as  new  trustees,  William  Furman,  Henry 
Stanton,  Tunis  Joralemon  and  Noah  Waterbury. 

June.  The  trustees  altered  the  name  of  Old  Ferry  street  to 
Fulton  street,  and  appointed  Burdet  Stryker  as  public  measurer, 
with  the  same  fees  as  those  allowed  to  the  New  York  mea- 
surers. Brooklyn  was  also  visited  during  this  month,  by  President 
Monroe. 

July.  The  tax  levied  by  the  trustees  to  meet  village  expenses, 
was  §1,628.50. 

December.  The  Brooklyn  Humane  Society,  whose  object  was 
the  distribution  of  charity  during  the  winter,  being  "  convinced  by 
painful  experiences  that  institutions  of  this  nature  have  a  direct 
tendency  to  beget,  among  a  large  portion  of  their  fellow  citizens, 
habits  of  imprudence,  indolence,  dissipation  and  consequent  pau- 
perism," resolved  to  dissolve  their  organization,  and  notice  was 
given  that  relief  was  not  to  be  expected  from  the  society  during 
the  ensuing  winter. 


196  '  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1818.  January  12th.     The  African  Wesleyan  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  incorporated. 

February  11th.     Mr.  Hez.  B.  Pierrepont's  journal  records  "But- 
termilk channel  closed  with  ice,  and  people  walking  over." 

March  24th.  An  act  was  passed  incorporating  The  Brooklyn 
Jamaica  and  Flatbush  Turnpike. 

June.  A  temporary  night  watch  was  established.  Two  sur- 
veyors, the  late  'Jeremiah  Lott  of  Flatbush  and  William  M. 
Stewart,  were  engaged  by  the  trustees  to  make  a  survey  and  map 
of  the  village.  Gabriel  Furman,  the  historian,  who,  with  John 
Cole,  afterwards  a  physician  in  Brooklyn,  acted  as  chain-bearers 
and  assistants,  has  recorded  in  his  Manuscript  Notes  the  following 
account  of  this  survey:  "We  commenced  on  what  was  then 
known  as  District  street,  being  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
village  (it  is  now  closed  and  Atlantic  street  runs  partly  on  its  line); 
there  were  no  houses  on  it,  the  lands  on  both  sides  being  then  used 
for  farming  purposes,  on  the  north  side  by  Judge  Joralemon  and 
on  the  south  side  by  Ralph  Patchen  and  Isaac  Cornell.  Between 
Patchen  and  Cornell  there  was  a  standing  bet  of  five  dollars  from 
year  to  year,  as  to  which  could  have  the  first  bushel  of  pears  in 
the  New  York  market,  for  sale,  raised  from  their  lands  here.  I 
well  recollect  the  day,  when  we  commenced  that  survey,  it  was 
very  warm,  and  tedious  getting  through  the  sand,  and  then  the 
survey  was  continued  through  Eed  Hook  lane,  another  boundary 
of  the  village,  and  from  the  opening  of  Red  Hook  lane  upon 
Fulton  street,  the  boundary  continued  in  a  straight  line  across  the 
fields  to  the  head  of  the  Wallabout  bay.  This  was  the  extent  of 
the  first  village  of  Brooklyn."  This  survey  was  completed  in 
March,  1819,  at  what  would  be  now  considered  the  very  moderate 
cost  of  five  hundred  dollars,  and  was  formally  adopted  by  the  board 
of  trustees,  as  the  permanent  plan  for  regulating  the  village. 

On  its  completion,  sign-boards  were  put  up  at  the  corners  of 
the  streets,  by  order  of  the  trustees,  at  an  expense  of  $50. 

1819.  February.      Maj.   Gen.   Andrew   Jackson   visited   New 
York  and  Brooklyn. 

March.     Isaac  Nichols  and  James  P.  Chichester,  were  justices  of 
the  peace  for  Brooklyn.     The  county  clerk's  office  was  removed 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  197 

from  Flatbush  to  this  place.     The  overseers  of  the  poor  recom- 
mended a  limitation  of  the  number  of  retailers  of  liquors. 

May.  J.  Bedell  (ante,  page  44),  and  Edward  Gibson,  commenced 
running  a  stage  or  wagon,  "  as  circumstances  may  require,  for 
pe  accommodation  of  officers  and  gentlemen  washing  to  visit 
the  Navy  Yard,  to  Edward  Gibson's  restoration,  adjoining  eastern 
gate  of  the  Navy  Yard.  Fare  only  25  cents,  two  or  more,  12 J 
cents  each;  distance  one  and  a  half  mile." 

April.  The-  ever  present  danger  from  the  powder  magazines, 
on  Fort  Greene,  again  agitated  the  public  mind,  and  led  to  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  abate  the  nuisance. 

July.  The  trustees,  acting  as  commissioners  of  highways,  closed 
up,  or  cancelled  the  road  or  highway  called  Sands  street  (and 
which  had  been  threatened  the  year  before,  by  the  Wallabout 
Bridge  Company,  with  an  indictment  before  the  grand  jury,  on 
account  of  its  bad  condition),  "so  far  north  as  the  same  hath  been 
received,  or  taken,  or  admitted  as  a  public  road  or  highway." 
But  Jeremiah  Johnson,  John  Jackson  and  John  Spader,  resi- 
dents of  the  Wallabout  district,  appealed  from  this  decision  to  the 
court  of  common  pleas,  which,  in  October,  1820,  reversed  the 
action  of  the  trustees. 

Jacob  Cozine  was  appointed  to  remove  all  dirt  and  filth  from 
the  paved  streets  of  the  village. 

October.  Thomas  W.  Birdsall  (who  is  still  living  among  us) 
succeeded  Joel  Bunce,  deceased,  as  post  master  of  the  village. 
Of  his  fitness  for  the  office,  as  an  honest  man,  there  could  have 
been  no  reasonable  doubt,  for  in  June  previous  he  had  advertised 
an  umbrella  left  at  his  store,  three  weeks  before  !  \n  agricultural 
society  was  established  in  Kings  county. 

1820.  The  census  of  this  year  gave  the  village  a  population  of 
5,210. 

April  19th.  An  editorial  in  the  Star,  of  this  date,  mentions 
the  following  greatly  needed  improvements  in  the  village  :  "1.  We 
ought  to  have  one  good  public  market.  We  have  now  seven  or 
eight  substitutes  in  different  places.  2.  The  street  near  the  water, 
and  between  the  ferries  requires  raising.  3.  A  street  should  be 
opened  so  as  to  ascend  the  Heights,  west  of  Old  Ferry,  near  the 


198  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

water.  4.  The  street  under  the  hill  [now  Furman  street]  ought 
to  be  widened,  and  regulated :  it  is  an  important  street,  being  near 
the  water,  west  of  the  Old  Ferry.  5.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  Front  street  was  not  opened  east  of  Fulton  street  at  the 
premises  of  Mrs.  Smith.  It  would  be  of  much  importance  on 
account  of  fires,  by  breaking  the  chain  of  wooden  buildings.  6. 
Front  street  east  of  the  new  ferry  requires  much  regulating.  It 
is  indeed  a  nuisance  and  disgrace  to  the  village.  7.  Hicks  street 
west  of  Fulton  street  is  always  in  a  wretched  state.  It  is  surpris- 
ing that  a  street  so  populous  should  have  been  so  neglected.  8. 
Every  house  should  be  numbered.  9.  We  might,  perhaps,  afford 
lamps  as  far  as  the  fork  of  the  Ferry  streets." 

This  year,  also,  appeared  Guy's  celebrated  Brooklyn  Snow 
Scene,  which  we  have  described     (ante  99,  note  2). 

May.     Daily  mails  were  established  to  New  York  and  Jamaica. 

Several  whales  appeared  near  Sandy  Hook,  one  of  which,  nearly 
seventy  feet  long,  was  taken  by  a  pilot  boat  and  its  carcase  towed 
up  to  Brooklyn  where  it  was  towed  into  the  slip  under  the 
Heights,  at  foot  of  Pineapple  street  (Map  b,  No.  30),  a  shed  erected 
over  it  and  was  exhibited.  Some  apprehension  was  felt  lest  the 
presence  of  so  large  a  mass  of  decaying  matter  might  breed  a 
pestilence,  but  enterprising  G-erardy  Langdon,  mine  host  of  the 
Steamboat  Hotel,  who  seems  to  have  been  interested  in  the  show, 
procured  a  certificate  from  the  celebrated  savant  of  that  day,  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  the  publication  of  which  allayed  the  public 
fear.  And  so,  under  the  cheerful  assurance  that  "  all  those  who 
wish  to  feast  their  eyes  and  regale  their  noses,  may,  for  25  cents,  be 
amply  gratified,"  it  continued  to  be  visited  by  crowds  from  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  until  its  stench  became  so  powerful  as  to 
be  unbearable,  and  even  those  who  had  been  to  see  it  could  be  de- 
tected by  the  odor  which  had  impregnated  their  garments. 

October.    Doughty  and  Navy  streets  were  named  by  the  trustees. 

1821.  January.  The  census1  of  Kings  county  for  1820,  gives 
Brooklyn  a  population  of  2,928,  white  males,  2,921  white  females, 


1  In  1706,  there  were  64  freeholders  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn.     In  1802,  their  num- 
ber had  only  increased  to  86,  as  appears  from  the  list  of  jurors  at  that  period.    In 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  199 

olored  people,  and  at  the  Navy  Yard  366  persons,  being  a 
total  of  7,041,  and  again  of  3,236  since  the  census  of  1814. 

The  weather,  during  the  last  week  of  this  month,  is  noted  as  having 
been  of  remarkable  severity,  the  thermometer,  at  one  time,  being 
14°  below  zero,  and  the  Narrows  at  Staten  Island,  closed  by  ice, 
on  which  several  persons  walked  to  New  York  city.  The  North 
river  from  Cortland  street  to  Jersey  City,  was  passed  with  loaded 
sleighs,  and  a  temporary  half-way  house  was  erected  on  the  ice, 
while  a  Hoboken  ferry  boat,  having  on  board  fifty-eight  persons 
and  twenty-three  horses,  remained  all  one  night  blocked  up  in  the 
ice.     The  Brooklyn  ferries,  however,  were  closed  but  a  few  hours. 

February  5.  Eli  Wadsworth  &  Co.,  and  Peter  Snyder  gave 
notice  that  they  had  erected  a  weigh  bridge  in  the  village  of 
Brooklyn,  near  the  New  Ferry,  on  a  new  and  improved  plan, 
which  for  accuracy  and  expedition  exceeds  any  other  scale  ever 
invented,  either  for  weighing  large  or  small  draughts.  They  also 
invited  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  to  test  the  improvement  by 
weighing  on  it,  free  of  expense,  for  one  week. 

March  7th.  Appeared  the  first  number  of  the  Long  Island 
Patriot,  edited  and  published  by  Mr.  George  L.  Birch. 

April  30th.  Jeremiah  Lott's  report  of  levels  of  the  village  of 
Brooklyn  was  accepted,  and  the  sum  of  S250  appropriated  to 
him  for  the  same,  by  the  board  of  trustees. 

July.  Great  vill age  improvements  were  contemplated  about  this 
time.  Front  street  was  to  be  raised  and  paved  at  its  junction 
with  James  and  Dock  streets;  Sands  street,  which  had  previously 
been  in  such  a  miserable  condition,  as  to  cause  its  indictment 
before  the  grand  jury  of  the  county,  was  to  be  repaired  from 
Fulton  street  as  far  as  the  Wallabout  toll-bridge,  and  paved  as  far  as 
Mr.  Jagger's;  two  wells  were  to  be  dug  on  Hicks  street ;  and  the 
street  on  the  bank  was  to  be  opened  for  carriages  as  far  as 
Samuel  Jackson's  house,  between  Clark  and  Pierrepont  streets 
(see  ante,  140). 


th<-  year  1800,  there  were  253  votes  given  in  this  town,  at  a  contested  election  for  as- 
semblyman. In  1824,  on  the  same  occasion,  1,013  votes  were  taken. —  Furman's 
Notes,  89. 


200  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  village  this  year  contained  867  buildings,  96  of  which  were 
groceries  and  taverns,  and  several  storehouses,  principally  depend- 
ent for  business,  oh  the  operation  of  the  quarantine  laws,  in  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August.1 

1822.  Sands  street  was  this  year  paved,  and  in  March,  in  com- 
pliance with  a  petition  from  the  inhabitants,  the  trustees  directed, 
that  the  houses  on  Fulton,  Main,  Front,  Hicks  and  High  streets, 
should  be  numbered,  at  the  expense  of  their  owners.  It  was,  also, 
announced  that  a  graveled  sidewalk  and  curbstones  would  be 
made  in  Fulton  street,  to  the  extremity  of  the  village,  near 
Military  Garden.  At  a  village  meeting,  the  assessors  were  voted 
$1.25  per  day  for  their  services.  Fifty  dwelling  houses  were 
this  year  erected  in  the  village.2 

March  13th.     The  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  incorporated. 

May.  The  first  Brooklyn  Directory  was  published  by  Alden 
Spooner,  at  the  Star  office. 

A  Medical  Society  was  established  in  Kings  county. 

July  4th.  A  new  liberty  pole  was  erected  at  the  Fulton  Ferry, 
on  which  occasion  an  address  was  delivered  by  Abraham  E. 
Brower,  an  aged  Revolutionary  patriot,  and  a  salute  was  fired  by 
the  military  companies,  under  command  of  Capt.  George  Hall, 
and  Capt.  John  Allen. 

On  the  25th  of  this  month,  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  Roman 
Catholic  Church  (St.  James),  was  laid  in  Jay  street,  the  society 
being  incorporated  on  the  20th  of  November,  following. 

In  September,  precautionary  measures  were  adopted  by  the 
trustees  to  prevent  the  introduction  into  the  village  of  the  yellow 
fever,  then  just  making  its  appearance  in  New  York;  and  the 
business  of  that  city  being  necessarily  transferred  to  Greenwich 
village,  the  steam  ferry  boat,  Nassau,  plied  regularly  between  that 
village  and  Brooklyn. 

November  27.  A  farce  was  enacted  in  the  lecture  room  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  establishing  a  society  in  the   town  of 


1  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  within  the  bounds 
of  the  present  village  contained  fifty-six  buildings. — Furman's  Notes,  89. 
*  Furman's  Notes,  89. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  201 

Brooklyn,  auxiliary  to  the  American  society  for  meliorating  the 
condition  of  the  Jews,  formed  in  New  York,  two  years  before. 
An  amusing  account  of  the  affair  is  preserved  in  Furman' s  Manu- 
script Notes. 

1823.  March  3d.  Memorable  for  a  great  storm  which  occurred, 
doing  great  damage  to  the  shipping,  and  much  injury  in  Brooklyn, 
where  the  ropewalks  of  Joshua  Sands  and  N.  L.  Martin  were 
blown  away. 

April  20th.  The  new  brick  church  in  Cranberry  street  be- 
longing to  the  First  Presbyterian  Society,  was  dedicated. 

June  5th.  Spooner's  Brooklyn  Directory,  second  issue,  esti- 
mates a  gain  of  190  families  during  the  year  past.  The  population 
of  the  town  at  this  time  was  about  9,000 ;  that  of  the  village 
7,000.     During  this  spring  Henry  street  was  opened. 

July  4th.  Was  this  year  celebrated  with  considerable  spirit  in 
the  village.  At  sunrise  the  national  flag  was  raised,  and  a  salute 
fired.  At  10  a.  m.,  a  procession  was  formed,  consisting  of  the 
Brooklyn  Artillery,  and  Village  Guards,  Clergy,  Firemen, 
Revolutionary  Veterans,  Citizens  and  Sabbath  school  scholars. 
The  procession  marched  through  Fulton,  Nassau,  "Washington, 
Sands,  Main,  Front  and  Cranberry  streets  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  which  was  densely  crowded.  After  listening  to  the  usual 
exercises  of  such  occasions,  and  an  oration  by  Clarence  D.  Sackett, 
the  procession  adjourned  to  the  green,  on  the  hill  near  the  north- 
east corner  of  Columbia  and  Pineapple  streets,  where,  about 
2  p.  m.,  they  partook  of  an  excellent  dinner  prepared  by  Abiathar 
Young,  keeper  of  the  Steamboat  Hotel ;  and  continued  at  the 
table  singing  songs,  and  drinking  toasts  until  about  6  p.  m.,  when 
Ihey  dispersed  very  orderly.  The  evening  was  kept  up  with  a 
fine  display  of  fireworks,  etc.,  at  Duflon's  Military  Garden. 

This  month,  also,  one  of  the  public  stores  attached  to  the 
Custom  house  of  the  port  of  New  York  was  moved  to  the  village 
of  Brooklyn,  and  kept  in  a  three-story  fire-proof  building,  on 
Furman  street,  erected  by  Jonathan  Thompson,  collector  of  New 
York.  This  was  the  first  and  for  many  years  the  only  bonded 
warehouse  in  Brooklyn,  and  was  situated  on  the  dock  on  Furman 
street  near  Cranberry  street.     (See   Map   b,  No.  28).     Another 

26 


202  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

addition  to  the  prosperity  of  the  place  was  the  erection  of  a  labora- 
tory for  the  manufacture  of  whiting  and  colors,  by  Hiram  & 
Arthur  Hirst,  situated  near  Isaac  Cornell's  distillery,  and  named 
The  Nassau  Whiting  and  Color  Manufactory,  and  Furman's  Manu- 
script Notes  record  that,  on  the  1st  of  August,  there  were  no  less 
than  fifty- three  vessels  lying  at  the  wharves  of  Brooklyn,  besides 
eight  vessels  in  the  United  States  Navy  Yard. 

On  the  28th  of  this  month,  the  Apprentices'  Library  was  organized, 
an  event  which  may  justly  be  considered  the  event  of  the  year.1 

The  cause  of  Greece,  at  this  time  in  the  midst  of  her  last  great 
struggle  for  liberty,  excited  universal  sympathy  in  every  portion 
of  our  country .  On  the  3d  of  September,  a  wooden  cross,  twenty 
feet  in  height,  was  reared  on  the  Heights  of  Brooklyn.  It  was 
dedicated  by  the  ladies  of  New  York,  with  the  inscription, 
"  Sacred  to  the  cause  of  the  Greeks,"  and  was  entrusted  to  the 
care  of  Gen.  J.  G.  Swift,  who,  in  the  presence  of  many  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  planted  it  at  the  foot  of  his  garden  2  fronting  New 
York  city,  accompanied  with  some  appropriate  remarks.  Wine 
being  then  introduced,  the  following  toast  was  drank  amid  cheers  : 
"  May  the  Grecian  cross  be  planted  from  village  to  village,  and 
from  steeple  to  steeple,  until  it  rests  on  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia," 
after  which  an  eloquent  address  was  delivered  by  the  learned  and 
celebrated  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell. 

During  the  summer  of  1823,  Brooklyn  was  again  visited  by  the 
yellow  fever.  It  was  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  imported  into 
the  village  by  the  ship  Diana,  or  the  brig  Trio,  which  had  lost  her 
mate  at  sea  by  the  same  disease.  The  Diana,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  fairly  cleared,  by  concurrent  testimony,  from  the  imputation. 
Many  inhabitants  were  disposed  to  trace  the  infection  to  certain 
stores  belonging  to  Samuel  Jackson  and  George  Hicks,  in  which 
were  stored  large  quantities  of  fish,  from  which  arose  an  almost 
insupportable  stench.  The  first  case  occurred  on  August  22d,  in  a 
house  on  Furman  street  (Map  d,  g),  and  was  fatal.  In  the  same 
dwelling  seven  persons  subsequently  sickened,  two  of  whom  died; 


1  See  chapter  on  Literary  Institutions. 

2  The  site  of  this  cross  is  marked  as  No.  25,  on  Map  b. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  203 

and  two  who  had  removed  from  the  house  were  attacked  and  died 
at  a  place  in  Nassau  street  near  the  Alms  house  in  the  back  part  of 
the  village.  Another  who  was  ascertained  frequently  to  have 
d  through  the  infected  district ;  and,  as  it  was  believed,  had 
frequently  visited  the  house  on  Furman  street  (g),  died  at  the 
mansion  house  on  Columbia  street.  On  the  same  street,  also  (d), 
John  Wells,  Esq.,  an  eminent  member  of  the  New  York  bar,  ex- 
pired on  the  7th  of  September.1  Another  fatal  case  occurred  on 
Furman  street  (e),  above  the  cooper's  shop  of  F.  Tuttle  (m)  ;  another 
on  the  same  street  near  Caze  and  Richaud's  distillery,  which  re- 
covered; and  a  case  at  Toby  Philpot's,  a  public  tavern  on  Furman 
street  recovered.  A  young  woman,  also  from  Furman  street,  died 
in  Pearl  near  Nassau  street;  and  two  cases  of  sickness  occurred,  one 
without  the  infested  district,  and  one  who  sickened  on  board  the 
Diana,  of  which  her  husband  was  captain,  and  was  reported  to  the 
New  York  Board  of  Health,  and  the  health  officer  attributed  her 
illness  rather  to  the  atmosphere  of  that  part  of  Brooklyn  where 
the  ship  lay,  to  which  she  imprudently  exposed  herself  in  the 
night,  than  to  any  infection  in  the  ship.  The  last  death  occurred 
on  September  22d,  just  one  month  from  the  day  of  the  first  death, 
and  on  the  same  day  the  fences  (g,  g),  which  had  been  erected  at 
each  end  of  the  infected  district,  were  removed  by  the  trustees.2 

1  John  Wells,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Otsego  Co.,  X.  Y.,  died  of  the  yellow  fever  at  his 
residence  on  Brooklyn  Heights,  September  7, 1823,  aged  fifty-two  years.  During  the 
Revolution  his  family  were  all  massacred  by  the  Indians,  and  he  alone  escaped  by 
being  away  from  home,  at  school  in  Schenectady.  By  force  of  his  talents,  and  the 
integrity  and  firmness  of  his  character  he  had  risen  to  the  head  of  his  profession  and 
by  common  consent  held  the  first  rank  at  the  Xew  York  bar.  His  modest,  unassum- 
ing manners,  disarmed  others  of  that  envy,  which  the  superiority  of  his  intellect,  the 
splendor  of  his  genius  and  the  extent  of  his  legal  attainments  were  calculated  to  excite. 

2  It  may  be  well,  at  this  point,  to  review  the  yellow  fever  epidemics  which  occurred 
in  Brooklyn,  in  the  years  1804  and  1809. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1804  (a  year  remarkable  for  the  coolness  and  salubrity  of  its 
summer),  the  yellow  fever  appeared  at  the  Wallabout  settlement  adjacent  to  the 
United  States  Navy  Yard.  This  little  hamlet  consisted  of  eight  dwelling  houses, 
and  two  or  three  out-houses,  the  distance  between  the  two  extreme  buildings  being 
about  one-third  of  a  mile.  These  houses,  which  would  seem  to  have  been  sufficiently 
separated  for  every  purpose  of  cleanliness  or  convenience,  were  built  on  the  fine 
gravelly  soil  of  the  Wallabout  shore  and  furnished  with  wells  of  good  water  ;  while 
the  place,  which  had  on  its  southern  side  a  bank  some  fifty  feet  in  height  (in  which, 


MAP  D. 


EAST  RIVER 


^#•1°  FTAN  SJRtz'  s 


Q 


Q 


«i«#^llB: 


BiSBBiMPi1 


«w#g|i 


<J  COLUMBIA     pZy]  |— 3         X  N     STREET 


Q~Q" 


Yellow  Fever  District,  1823. 


REFERENCES. 

A.  Wharf  and  stores  of  Samuel  Jackson  and  George  Hicks. 

B.  Where  the  ship  Diana  lay. 

G.  House  where  the  fever  appeared. 

D.  Residence  of  John  Wells,  Esq. 

E.  House  in  which  Thomas  Oxx  sickened  and  died. 

X.  Mansion  house,  owned  by  Alex.  Robinson,  Esq.,  and  in  which  John  Ward,  Esq.,  died. 

g.  g.  Fences  erected  by  the  Trustees. 

H.  Toby  Philpot's. 

T.  Stone  store  of  Henry  Waring. 

K.  Thomas  Armstrong's  tavern. 

I.  Jonathan  Thompson's  brick  store. 

M.  Furman  Turtle's,  and  Mrs.  Vanderveer's. 

N.  Residence  of  S.  S.  Newman. 

O.  Henry  Waring's  house. 

P.  David  Kimberly's  house. 

Q.  Q.  Stepladder  to  ascend  the  hill,  from  Furman  street. 

R.  Road  up  the  hill. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  205 

The  ravages  of  the  disease  maybe  briefly  summed  up,  as  follows  ■ 
1!>  oases,  of  which  10  were  fatal.  AVe  present  our  readers  with  a 
plan  of  the  infected  district,  copied  from  one  in  Gabriel  Furman's 
Manuscript  Xotes. 


however,  a  break  gave  fall  sweep  to  the  air  even  when  the  wind  was  south),  was 
surrounded  on  every  other  side  by  running  salt  water,  there  being  no  fresh  marshes 
near,  and  enjoyed,  almost  constantly,  cool  and  refreshing  breezes.  The  houses  were 
inhabited,  at  the  time  of  the  epidemic,  by  about  twenty  workmen  engaged  in  Mr. 
John  Jackson's  ship-yard,  to  whom  the  soil  belonged.  These  men  seem  all  to  have 
been  industrious,  cleanly  and  respectable  ;  nor  do  they  appear  to  have  been  incon- 
veniently crowded  as  to  sleeping  accommodations,  the  greatest  number  in  any  one 
room  being  four,  all  of  whom  remained  in  health.  In  addition  to  a  freedom  from 
local  causes,  such  as  want  of  ventilation,  crowding,  filth,  etc.,  there  was,  also,  no  un- 
favorable condition  of  the  atmosphere,  the  weather  being  quite  cool  and  the  wind  at 
the  time  and  for  a  fortnight  previous  having  been  from  the  north-east  and  east. 

To  this  place  came  the  schooner  Greyhound  from  Cape  Francois,  and  on  the  4th  of 
June  the  brig  La  Ruse,  from  Guadaloupe,  both  ports  having,  at  the  time  of  sailing, 
been  infected  ;  and  the  latter  vessel  {La  Ruse)  lost  her  cook  and  had  several  sick  of  the 
fever  during  the  passage.  These  vessels,  on  or  about  the  18th,  had  their  bilge  water 
pumped  out  within  a  short  distance  of  the  ship  yard,  and  on  the  20th  the  first  cases 
of  yellow  fever  appeared  in  the  neighborhood,  being  Isaac  W.  Brown,  Edward 
Livingston,  Samuel  White,  James  Castles  and  Mrs.  Little ;  all  of  whom  recovered, 
excepi  the  last  mentioned,  who  died  en  the  24th  or  25th.  Then  followed  Philip 
Dring  who  sickened  on  the  21st,  and  died  on  the  23d ;  Mrs.  Sherlock  on  the  22d, 
died  on  the  28th  ;  Jane  Johnson  on  the  23d,  died  the  27th ;  Mrs.  Dring  on  the  30th, 
recovered  ;  Sally  Wakeman  sickened  on  the  29th  or  30th,  died  July  the  3d  ;  "William 
Arbutton  on  the  28th,  died  July  3d  ;  Benjamin  Rhodes  sickened  on  the  29th,  re- 
covered ;  George  Little,  Mrs.  Gentridge  (who  laid  out  Mrs.  Little)  and  Patty  Helme, 

on  the  30th;  and Helme  on  July  1st,  all  of  wThom  recovered,  as,  also,  did 

Patrick  Proffer,  a  laborer,  who  took  the  fever  at  the  Wallabout,  went  over  to  New 
York,  and  finally  recovered.  On  the  26th  of  June,  the  vessels  were  ordered  back  to 
quarantine,  the  workmen  removed  from  the  spot,  and  no  new  case  occurred.  This 
visitation  of  the  epidemic  then  attacked  seventeen  persons,  all  of  which  cases  were 
proved  to  have  been  traceable  directly  to  one  or  both  of  the  infected  vessels,  and  six 
of  which  were  fatal.1 

The  above  is  a  summary  of  the  very  voluminous  evidence  presented  in  an  exhaus- 
tive review  of  Dr.  Edward  Miller's  report  on  the  yellow  fever  of  1805,  published  in 
the  American  Med.  and  Phil.  Register  of  New  York,  for  1812,  pp.  91-103,  164-189, 
270-348.       The  review  in  question  is  abundantly  fortified  by  affidavits,  letters,  etc., 

•James  Hardie,  in  his  History  of  New  York  City,  published  in  1827,  in  speaking  of  this  epidemic, 
says  :  "  Although  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  village  (Brooklyn)  had  come  over  to  this  city,  and 
died  in  the  houses  of  their  friends,  our  Board  of  Health  knew  of  no  instance  in  which  it  proved  con- 
tagious to  those  who  attended  them.  We  remained  exempt  from  pestilence  this  season."  New 
York  had  been  visited  by  the  fever  during  the  previous  year  1803. 


206  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

September  28th.  The  common  council  of  New  York  letto  Hez. 
B.  Pierrepont  the  grant  of  water  right  in  front  of  his  property. 

October  15.  The  First  Baptist  Church  in  Brooklyn,  was  incor- 
porated. 


and  presents  a  complete  and  overwhelming  refutation  of  the  opinion  which  was  per- 
sistently maintained  by  Dr.  John  R.  B.  Rodgers  the  health  officer,  Dr.  Miller,  resi- 
dent physician,  and  others  of  the  New  York  faculty,  to  the  effect  that  the  epidemic 
was  of  purely  local  origin. 

After  the  epidemic  of  1805,  shipping  from  foreign  ports,  where  the  yellow  fever 
prevailed,  were  not  permitted  to  come  alongside  the  New  York  wharves  or  within 
three  hundred  yards  thereof;  and,  after  that  date,  the  Brooklyn  shores  were  resorted 
to  by  such  vessels,  as  a  consequence  of  which  the  village  was  visited  (in  1809  and 
1823)  with  two  similar  epidemics,  while  New  York  remained  totally  exempt. 

The  yellow  fever  epidemic  which  prevailed  in  Brooklyn  during  the  summer  of 
1809,  was  alluded  to  in  our  first  volume  (page  391,  392),  but,  as  the  opportunities  of 
information  which  we  have  since  enjoyed  have  compelled  us  to  change  our  opinion 
as  to  its  cause,  and  as  it  is  a  matter  of  no  small  interest  to  many  of  our  readers,  we  take 
the  liberty  of  giving  a  more  extended  history  of  it. 

The  ship  Concordia,  Captain  Coffin,  sailed  from  Havana  about  the  beginning  of 
June,  at  which  time  the  yellow  fever  was  raging  there  ;  arrived  at  the  New  York 
quarantine  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month  ;  and  having  complied  with  the  usual 
regulations,  was  permitted  to  come  up  to  the  city  and  anchored  in  the  East  river ; 
after  which  she  hauled  into  Sands's  lower  dock,  at  Brooklyn,  about  half  way  between 
the  Old  (Fulton)  and  New  (Catharine)  ferries.  On  the  29th,  Nathaniel  Muller,  one 
of  the  crew,  who  had  been  discharged  and  gone  over  to  New  York  *i  few  days  be- 
fore, returned  sick  to  the  ship  at  Brooklyn,  and  from  thence  was  conveyed,  on  the 
30th,  to  a  boarding  house,  near  by,  where  he  died  the  next  day.  Immediately  after 
this,  the  Concordia's  hold  was  washed  and  purified  with  vinegar,  from  which  it  is 
to  be  inferred  that  the  ship's  officer  suspected  the  malignant  nature  of  Muller's 
disease,  and,  indeed,  we  have  the  affidavits  of  the  landlady  and  another  person  to 
the  effect  that  Muller,  during  his  brief  illness,  declared  to  them  his  belief  that  "  he 
had  the  fever,  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  the  Havanna."  By  the  12th  of 
July,  several  cases  of  the  disease  had  occurred,  and  on  the  26th  the  vessel  returned  to 
quarantine,  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Health. 

The  case  of  Mrs.  Spence,  a  sailor's  washerwoman,  who  lived  in  one  of  the  dwelling 
houses  nearest  the  Concordia,  and  who  died  on  the  10th  of  July,  was  the  first  which 
excited  particular  alarm  in  the  village.  Even  then  the  idea  that  the  disease,  which 
was  daily  becoming  so  fatal  and  so  alarming,  could  be  the  yellow  fever  was  scouted 
by  interested  parties,  and  by  many  among  the  medical  faculty  who  maintained  the 
theory  of  its  domestic  origin. 

These  parties,  for  a  considerable  period,  denied  even  that  it  was  any  epidemic 
whatever  ;  it  was  the  common  bilious  remittent ;  it  was  only  the  dysentery.  Heat, 
moisture  and  filth  were  in  their  opinion,  the  grand  propagandists  of  yellow  fever 
in  this  country,  but  the  two  former,  in  this  case,  failed  to  account  for  its  exist- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  207 

On  the  13th  of  November,  due  notice  was  given  of  application  to 
the  legislature  for  the  incorporation  of  a  Long  Island  Banking 
company. 

eiuv  here,  Bince  the  city  of  New  York,  only  separated  by  a  river  of  eight  hundred 
yards  in  width,  was  exposed"  to  the  same  heat,  and  to  the  same  moisture,  and  yet 
remained  entirely  exempt  from  the  disease.  So,  when,  at  length,  facts  could  no 
longer  be  ignored,  and  the  existence  of  yellow  fever  at  Brooklyn  was  admitted  by 
nearly  everybody,  these  domestic  origin  theorists  (prominent  among  whom  was  Dr. 
Rodgers,  the  health  officer,  through  whose  remissness  the  Concordia  had  been 
allowed  to  leave  the  quarantine),  having  failed  to  prove  that  heat  and  moisture  were 
its  causes,  fell  back  on  filth  as  their  last  stand,  and  endeavored  to  prove  that  Brook- 
lyn was  a  more  filthy  place  than  New  York  (  ?  ),  and  that  nothing  but  an  extraordi- 
nary assemblage  and  concentration  of  nuisances  in  Brooklyn,  could  account  for  the 
prevalence  of  this  disease  in  a  season  of  such  unprecedented  mildness.  Having 
pronounced  this  decision,  they  set  about  procuring  the  evidence,  which  should  sup- 
port it,  and  sent  a  young  gentleman  of  the  profession  over  to  Brooklyn  upon  an 
errand  of  discovery.  Upon  his  statements,  addressed  to  the  health  officer,  that 
gentleman  issued  a  report,  charging  upon  the  village  sundry  nuisances  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Front,  Dock,  Water,  and  Main  streets,  which,  in  his  opinion,  were 
full  and  sufficient  causes  of  all  the  sickness  in  those  localities.  The  Board  of 
Health  of  Xew  York,  however,  do  not  seem  to  have  fully  accepted  his  views  as  con- 
clusive, and  at  their  request  Dr.  John  D.  Gillespie,  of  Xew  York,  on  the  5th  of  June, 
1810,  submitted  a  report  on  the  yellow  fever,  which  prevailed  at  Brooklyn,  in  the 
summer  of  1809,  and  which  was  published  in  the  Am.  Med.  and  Phil.  Register  for 
1810  (pp.  101-109).  This  elicited  a  rejoinder  from  Dr.  Rodgers,  which  appeared  in  the 
New  York  Med.  and  Phil.  Journal  and  Review ;  and  this  again  was  replied  to,  at 
great  length,  by  Dr.  Gillespie  in  the  Am.  Med.  and  Phil.  Reg.,  for  1810  (pp.  253- 
283),  the  summing  up  of  the  controversy  being  given  by  the  editors  of  that  journal. 
Without  going  into  the  details  (which  our  space  will  not  permit)  of  the  arguments 
pro  and  con,  we  may  simply  state  that  Dr.  Rodgers  and  the  domestic  origin  party  seem 
to  have  been  most  signally  foiled  at  every  point,  in  their  attempt  to  foist  the  odium 
of  the  pestilence  of  1809  upon  the  local  causes  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  Dr. 
Gillespie,  with  courtesy,  but  with  a  directness  which  allowed  no  evasion,  controverted 
each  of  their  specific  statements,  fortified  his  own  positions  by  irrefragible  testimony 
and  documents,  and  finally  turned  the  tables  on  his  opponents,  by  submitting  to 
their  consideration  certain  questions,  which  they  could  not  answer,  without  involv- 
ing themselves  in  unending  inconsistencies  and  contradictions.  Meanwhile,  as 
already  mentioned  (vol.  I,  p.  391),  a  wordy  newspaper  war  had  arisen  among  physi- 
cians of  this  village,  which,  however,  speedily  degenerated  into  a  disgraceful  ex- 
change of  personalities  of  the  grossest  character. 

Of  the  twenty-eight  victims  of  the  disease  in  Brooklyn,  15  were  Americans,  12 
Irish  and  English,  and  1  German.1 

1  See  Long  Island  Star,  Nov.  2d,  9th.  16th,  28d,  and  30th  ;  Aug.  3d,  17th,  24th ;  Sept.  11th,  and  ISth, 
for  various  reports,  communications,  etc.,  on  this  epidemic. 


208  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Improvements  began  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  in  the  hitherto 
quiet  little  village.  Previous  to  this  period  it  had  been  a  village 
only  in  name ;  in  extent,  but  a  mile  square ;  and  in  population, 
numbering  merely  a  few  thousand.  Its  streets  were  poorly  regu- 
lated, unpaved,  unlighted,  without  sidewalks.  It  had  no  market,  no 
watch,  a  police  without  organization,  and  consequently  inefficient; 
an  apology  for  a  fire  department  consisting  of  a  superannuated 
engine  or  two,  a  couple  of  hooks  and  a  few  ladders;  and  a  govern- 
ment without  the  power  or  the  will  to  properly  enforce  its  ordin- 
ances. Those  whose  business  called  them  abroad  in  the  night, 
were  obliged  to  carry  their  own  lanterns,  and  cautiously  to  pick 
their  winding  way  through  streets  well  nigh  impassable  from  mud 
and  mire. 

The  state  of  morals,  likewise,  was  then  on  a  par  with  the  con- 
dition of  the  streets,  and  a  few  wild  young  men,  some  of  whom 
subsequently  closed  their  careers  by  ignominious  punishments, 
and  others  of  whom  have  long  ago  filled  the  drunkard's  grave,  not 
infrequently  disturbed  the  peaceful  stillness  of  the  village  with 
their  nightly  revels." * 

From  this  unpromising  state  of  affairs,  Brooklyn  now  began  to 
arouse  itself,  and  to  put  on  the  earnestness  which  betokened  a 
new  life,  and  a  more  glorious  future. 

Hicks  street  was  regulated  and  arched  from  Orange  to 
Middagh  streets,  and  its  side  gutters  paved  from  Cranberry  to 
Middagh  streets.  On  Nassau  street,  the  hill  was  scraped  down, 
regulated  and  arched  from  Washington  to  Jay  streets ;  and  Pearl 
street  was'  cut  through  McKenzie's  hill.  Washington  street, 
hitherto  almost  impassible  from  the  deep  gullies  caused  by  heavy 
rains,  was  regulated  and  paved  from  Sands  to  Water  streets ;  and 
an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  trustees,  requiring  the  owners,  or 
occupants  of  houses  and  property  on  Cranberry,  Middagh,  Hicks 
and  Nassau  streets,  to  make  sidewalks  in  front  of  said  property, 

1  In  1820,  the  following  lines  were  published  in  the  Long  Island  Star,  and  are 
copied  into  one  of  Mr.  Gabriel  Furman's  manuscript  volumes,  accompanied  with  the 
recorded  testimony  of  that  gentleman,  that  they  exhibit  what  was  then  a  very  cor- 
rect view  of  the  state  of  society  among  the  young  men  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn. 
"  It  has  very  much  improved  since  "  says  he,  "  but  not  before  dissipation  had  actually 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  209 

within  thirty  days,  under  penalty  of  five  dollars  for  every  week's 
delay. 

Furman's  Manuscript  also  preserves  a  list  of  brick  and  stone 
buildings,  erected  in  the  village,  between  June  1st,  1823,  and 
January  lst,1824,  among  which  were  two  three-story  brick  stores 
and  dwelling  houses,  on  the  west  side  of  Fulton  street,  opposite 
its  junction  with  Main  street,  erected  by  Dr.  Charles  Ball.  These 
were  the  first  three-story  brick  dwellings  built  in  Brooklyn  — 
although  Mr.  Losee  Van  Nostrand,  two  or  three  years  previously, 
had  built  two  three-story  brick  front  houses  on  Fulton  street.  A 
new  ropewalk  adjoining  that  of  Joshua  Sands,  on  Sands  street, 
near  the  Wallabout  bridge,  wTith  a  small  brick  building  near  the 
centre,  by  Tucker  &  Carter ;  a  brick  glass  factory  on  the  shore 
near  District  street,  by  J.  L.  Gilliland,  and  a  line  of  six  three- 
story  fire  proof  brick  storehouses  in  the  Navy  Yard. 

loBtioyed  both  in  reputation  and  life,  three-fourths  of  the  prominent  young  men  of 
that  day.  This  is  a  deplorable  picture,  but  I  know  it  to  be  a  true  one,  for  those 
young  men  preceded  me  in  life  but  a  very  few  years,  and  might  be  called,  many  of 
them,  my  contemporaries.     I  knew'  them  all." 

FOR  THE  LONG  ISLAND  STAR. 

To  the  Editor. 

Dear  Sir,  I  hope  your  goodness  will  excuse, 

This  humble  effort  of  a  female  pen ; 

And  trust  you  can't  ungallantly  refuse, 

To  print  it  for  those  bipeds,  call'd  young  men. 

For  surely,  Sir,  this  village  oft  presents, 
A  strange  anomaly  as  e'er  was  known ; 
Ladles  all  lonely!  while  the  dandy  gents, 
Sit  at  the  porter  house,  or  stroll  the  town ! 

Alas  the  age !  when  ladies'  sparkling  eyes, 
No  more  can  charm  like  sparkling  ale  and  beer ; 
"O  temporal"  must  lover's  fragrant  sighs, 
Have  lesser  fragrance  than  the  farn'd  segar? 

No  more  th'  inviting  circle  they  regard, 
Where  wit  and  beauty  spread  a  sweet  repast ; 
Oysters  and  terrapins  usurp  the  board ! 
Exalted  pleasures  !  —  most  refined  taste ! 

What  are  the  rising  prospects  of  the  land, 
When  female  charms  no  more  can  "wake  the  soul;" 
What  are  our  hopes,  when  many  a  youthful  band, 
Pay  early  court  to  pleasure's  poisoning  bowl  ? 

Julia. 

27 


210  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  village  of  Brooklyn,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1823,  con- 
tained 113  stone,  brick  and  brick  front  buildings.  During  the 
year  1823,  also,  122  frame  dwelling  houses  were  erected  within 
the  village,  mainly  on  Hicks,  Orange,  Henry,  Cranberry,  Mid- 
dagh,  Water,  Adams,  Sands,  York,  Concord,  Jay  and  Nassau 
streets. 

The  York  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized. 

1824.  This  year  Brooklyn's  career  of  progress  may  be  said  to 
have  fully  commenced.  Awaking  suddenly,  as  it  were,  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  resources  and  advantages  which  they  possessed, 
and  flattered  by  the  evidences  of  prosperity  everywhere  apparent, 
its  inhabitants  agitated  great  improvements.  Streets  and  roads, 
hitherto  considered  as  good  enough,  were  now  voted  to  be  insuffi- 
cient, and  nuisances;  and  as  vast  mounds  of  earth  vanished  before 
the  steady  approach  of  pick  and  spade,  new  avenues  and  streets, 
nearly  all  of  which  were  regulated  and  paved,  sprang  into  existence 
with  the  suddenness  of  magic.  Here  and  there,  also,  at  private 
expense,  a  lamp  was  hung  out,  serving  only  to  make  darkness  more 
grimly  visible ;  and  the  imperfect  water  courses  which  ran  through 
the  middle  of  the  streets,  were  replaced  by  carefully  constructed 
side  gutters.  A  commodious  market  was  built,  a  village  watch 
was  organized,  a  municipal  court  established,  and  the  efficient 
force  of  the  fire  department  nearly  doubled.  More  attention  was 
paid  to  everything  relating  to  the  village  government,  and  the 
village  authorities,  whose  functions  had  previously  been  quite 
limited,  were  reassured  by  the  growing  public  interest,  and 
strengthened  by  various  subsequent  acts  of  legislation,  so  that 
their  action  became  gradually  more  decided  and  efficient.  On 
every  side  buildings  arose  of  higher  architectural  pretensions  and 
beauty  than  those  which  had  preceded  them ;  and,  led  on  by  the 
enterprise  of  Dr.  Charles  Ball,  followed  by  Z.  Lewis,  A.  Van 
Sinderen,  and  others,  the  village  began  to  assume  a  more  elegant 
and  creditable  appearance.  Everywhere  the  evidences  abounded 
that  the  hitherto  shiftless  stand-still  village  was  too  near  the  heart 
of  the  leviathan  metropolis,  not  to  feel  its  throb,  and  be  quickened 
by  the  rush  of  the  life  current  that  circulated  through  its  immense 
arteries. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  211 

From  this  period  (1824)  the  march  of  the  village  was  im- 
petuously forward,  never  stopping,  never  wavering  till  its  rapid 
career  culminated  in  its  incorporation,  ten  years  later,  as  a  city. 
In  quick  succession,  one  street  after  another  was  opened,  graded, 
paved  and  lighted;  and  radiating  countrywards  in  every  direction 
from  the  Fulton  Ferry,  were  daily  increasing  evidences  that  there 
was  a  reality  and  a  soundness  in  all  this  prosperity,  that  fully 
attested  its  permanence.  It  becomes  now  our  pleasant  duty  to 
examine,  in  detail,  the  successive  steps  by  which  the  village  gave 
signs  of  a  renewed  healthy  action,  and  by  which  it  rapidly  rose 
into  notice. 

In  January,  the  annual  message, of  Governor  Joseph  0.  Yates 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  safety  and  value  of  the  harbor 
of  New  York  is  seriously  impaired  by  the  extension  of  improve- 
ments into  the  East  river,  on  the  Long  Island  side,  under  grants 
from  the  corporation ;  and  suggests  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission "  to  ascertain  and  prescribe  the  extent  beyond  which  no 
encroachments  in  future  shall  be  permitted,  and  to  which  grants 
for  the  right  of  soil  shall  be  hereafter  limited,"  etc. 

Brooklyn,  at  this  time,  shared  the  Greek  mania  which  possessed 
the  land;  committees  were  appointed,  collections  taken  in  the 
churches  and  schools,  concerts  held,  and  subscriptions  circulated, 
through  which  instrumentalities  the  good  people  of  the  village 
contributed  the  respectable  sum  of  §440.74,  to  the  relief  of  the 
Grecian  patriots. 

January  6th.  Brooklyn  is  designated,  in  a  report  of  Samuel 
L.  Southard,  Esq.,  secretary  of  the  navy,  as  one  of  the  places  at 
which  the  ten  first  class  navy  yards  were  recommended  to  be 
established. 

On  the  31st  of  this  month,  also,  in  the  assembly  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  William  Furman,  Esq.,  member  from  Kings  county, 
presented  the  petition  for  the  Long  Island  Bank,  which  was  to  be 
located  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  And  on  the  5th  of  February, 
ensuing,  the  standing  committee  of  banks  and  insurance  com- 
panies reported  on  the  above  petition,  that  having  "duly  examined 
the  merits  of  the  application,  and  having  learned  from  different 
sources,  that  the  incorporated  part  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn  con- 


212  ■  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

tains  rising  of  7,000  inhabitants ;  that  the  extensive  commercial, 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  business  transacted  there,  render 
it  fully  capable  of  sustaining  a  bank,  and  being  the  third  town,  in 
point  of  population,  in  this  state,  and  being  destitute  of  an  incor- 
poration, either  for  banking  or  insurance,"  they  had  prepared  and 
begged  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  said 
bank.1 

"  At  a  large  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  town 
of  Brooklyn,"  continues  the  report,  "  it  was  declared,  without  a  dis- 
senting voice,  that  they  n^ed  a  bank.  Such  is  the  expression  of 
the  county,  and  it  is  presumed  no  one  will  doubt  their  ability  to 
sustain  it.  Brooklyn  is  situated  opposite  New  York,  separated  by 
a  river  nearly  a  mile  in  width.  By  far  the  largest  number  of  the 
business  men  of  Brooklyn  meriting  and  requiring  temporary 
loans,  and  a  place  of  deposit,  are  wholly  unknown  to  the  banks  of 
New  York.  To  become  so,  requires  an  account  with  some  bank, 
and  frequent  deposits  and  an  endorser  in  New  York,  which  in 
most  cases  is  impracticable  and  wholly  inconvenient.  Brooklyn 
is  now  the  third  town  in  the  state,  and  the  sixteenth  in  the  United 

*The  statement  subjoined  to  this  report,  presents  the  following  statistical  informa- 
tion concerning  the  village : 

The  town  of  Brooklyn,  contained,  in  1820, 7,175  inhabitants. 

in  1814,  3.805 

Increase  in  six  years, 3,370 

It  is  generally  believed  there  are  now  9,000  inhabitants.  According  to  the  census 
of  1820,  more  than  6,000  resided  in  one  incorporated  district  of  a  mile  square,  situ- 
ated on  the  margin  of  the  East  river  opposite  New  York.  The  village  is  healthy, 
and  possesses  many  local  advantages.  The  margin  of  the  river  is  improved  by  ex- 
tensive wharves  and  storehouses,  that  invite  a  large  number  of  shipping.  In  1822, 
ten  large  fire-proof  warehouses  were  built,  fifty  dwelling  houses,  two  extensive 
white  lead  manufactories,  that  cost  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  dollars  each. 
During  the  past  year  two  large  brick  churches,  and  one  frame  one,  164  dwelling 
houses,  an  extensive  glass  manufactory,  a  wool  and  cotton  card  manufactory,1  and 

1  From  February  16, 1823,  to  February  15,  1824,  there  was  inspected  in  the  county  of  Kings  5,825 
barrels  of  superfine  flour ;  260  barrels  of  fine  flour ;  and  124  hogsheads  of  corn  meal. 

The  most,  if  not  all,  of  this  flour  and  meal  was  manufactured  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  where 
there  were  at  this  time  seven  water  mills,  owned  by  John  C.  Freecke,  Jordan  Coles,  Nehemiah 
Denton,  the  heirs  of  John  Cornell,  deceased,  the  heirs  of  Nicholas  Luqueer,  deceased,  Thorne 

Carpenter  and Van  Dyke;  and  two  wind  mills,  owned  by  Isaac  Cornell,  and  Hezekiah  B. 

Pierrepont.    This  last  mentioned  one,  however,  at  this  time  did  little  or  no  business. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK  I A  N  213 

States,  and  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  in  loss  than  five  years,  it  will 
he  the  second." 

This  able  presentation  of  the  claims  of  Brooklyn  was  not  thrown 
away  upon  the  assembly,  who  passed  the  required  act  of  incorpora- 
tion on  the  23d  of  March,  by  a  vote  of  ninety-one  to  twenty-two  ; 
it  being  the  largest  vote,  considering  the  state  of  the  house,  that 
had  been  given  to  any  bank  incorporation  bill  during  the  season. 
On  the  1st  of  April  following  the  bill  passed  the  senate  by  a  vote 
of  twenty-six  to  four,  and  the  same  day  received  the  governor's 
sanction,  and  became  a  law  of  the  state.  The  capital  of  the  bank 
was  to  be  §300,000  in  shares  of  $50  each,  and  the  institution  was 
not  to  go  into  operation  until  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent  of  the 
capital  was  paid.  Of  the  thirteen  directors,  two-thirds  were  to  be 
residents  of  Brooklyn.  Should  they  refuse  at  any  time  during 
regular  bank  hours  to  redeem  their  notes  in  specie,  the  charter 
was  to  be  forfeited.  The  following  persons  were  named  in  the 
bill  as  directors,  viz:  Leffert  Lefferts,  Jehiel  Jagger,  John  C. 
Freecke,  John  C.  Vanderveer,  Jordan  Coles,  Silas  Butler,  Fanning 
C.  Tucker,  Jacob  Hicks,  Henry  Waring,  Nehemiah  Denton, 
Elkanah  Dooiittle,  Thomas  Everit,  Jr.,  and  George  Little.  At 
the  first  meeting  of  this  board,  April  6, 1824,  Leffert  Lefferts,  Esq., 
was  unanimously  elected  president  of  the  bank,  and  a  committee 

ten  stores  was  built.  One  large  brick  church  is  building,  and  another  contracting 
for.  The  village  now  contains  seven  churches,  eight  rope  walks,  seven  distilleries, 
two  chain  cable  manufactories,  two  tanneries,  two  extensive  white  lead  manufac- 
tories, one  glass  factory,  one  floor  cloth  ditto,  one  card  ditto,  one  pocket  book  ditto, 
one  comb  ditto,  one  seal  skin  ditto,  seven  tide  and  two  wind  mills,  an  extensive 
establishment  for  the  preparation  of  drugs,  and  articles  required  for  dyeing  and 
manufacturing,  conducted  by  Dr.  Noyes,  late  professor  of  Hamilton  College,  seventy 
grocery  and  dry  goods  stores,  two  printing  establishments,  lumber  and  wood  yards, 
master  masons  and  carpenters. 

The  ropewalks  manufacture  1,130  tons  of  cordage  annually,  at  an  expenditure  of 
$260,000,  and  employ  200  persons.  The  distilleries  consume,  on  an  average,  780 
bushels  of  grain  per  day,  at  an  expense  of  $368,200  per  annum.  The  seal  skin 
factory  employs  60  men;  pocket  book  factory  40  persons;  comb  factory  20.  The 
card  factory  will  employ  300  persons ;  and  other  branches  in  all  400  to  500  persons. 
Immense  quantities  of  naval  stores,  hemp,  cotton,  India  goods,  hides,  provisions  and 
lumber,  are  stored  at  Brooklyn.  The  county  of  Kings  pays  annually  into  the 
treasury  of  the  state,  more  than  any  other  county  of  its  size,  cities  excepted,  and 
hitherto  has  received  no  favor  from  the  legislature." 


214    •  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

was  appointed  to  attend  to  its  concerns.  Subscription  books  were 
opened,  on  the  3d  of  May,  at  the  banking  house,  No.  5  Front 
street,  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of  the  directors,  con- 
sisting of  Silas  Butler,  Jordan  Coles,  F.  C.  Tucker,  John  C. 
Vanderveer,  and  John  C.  Freecke,  and  a  surplus  of  about  one 
million  and  a  half  was  subscribed  for.  The  capital  stock,  $300,000 ; 
$10  required  to  be  paid  in  at  the  time  of  subscribing,  on  each 
share  taken.  On  the  3d  of  August  following,  the  notes  of  the 
bank  were  first  put  in  circulation. 

Gabriel  Furman, Esq.,  subsequently  speaking  of  the  Long  Island 
Bank,  says  "  an  error  will  not  be  committed  in  saying  that  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  Brooklyn  have  been  largely  promoted 
by  this  bank.  It  has  been  in  fact,  as  its  name  imports,  a  Long 
Island  bank,  and  has  always  been  an  institution  prized  and 
cherished  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  counties.  It  has  been 
invariably  conducted  with  liberality,  impartiality  and  integrity. 
It  is  well  known  that  during  the  various  periods  of  financial 
pressure  and  embarrassments,  its  aid  has  always  been  uniformly 
and  amply  extended  to  the  mechanics,  manufacturers  and  trades- 
men, who  compose  the  business  population  of  Brooklyn ;  and  it 
is  the  depository  to  a  large  extent  of  the  funds  of  the  farmers  and 
others  of  the  island.  The  petitioners  for  the  renewal  of  its  charter, 
in  January,  1839,  earnestly  request  the  same,  and  state  that  they 
would  regard  an  omission  to  do  so,  and  the  consequent  with- 
drawal of  its  means  from  the  industry  of  the  place,  as  a  serious 
calamity  to  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  as  injurious  to  the  business 
of  the  island  generally.  It  is  further  noticeable  that  on  the  Queens 
county  petition  for  its  renewal,  were  fifty-two  names,  viz  :  mer- 
chants fourteen,  farmers  thirteen,  mechanics  twenty,  justices  of 
the  peace,  town  clerks  and  attorneys,  five."1 

March  4th.  In  senate  of  the  state  of  New  York,  John  Leflerts, 
Esq.,  brought  in  a  bill  to  establish  a  Board  of  Health  in  the  village 
of  Brooklyn,2  and  also  an  act  to  amend  an  act  to  incorporate  the 

1  Furman' s  Manuscripts,  x,  282. 

2  By  this  act  the  trustees  of  the  village  were  constituted  a  Board  of  Health,  the 
president  and  clerk  being  ex  officio  president  and  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Health. 
The  president's  salary  was  $150,  and  a  health  physician  appointed  by  the  board 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  215 

said  village,  both  of  which  bills  were  passed  by  the  legislature  on 
on  the  9th  of  April,  following. 

March  20th.  In  the  senate  a  petition  was  presented  from 
Henry  Stanton  and  others  for  an  act  of  incorporation  of  a  fire 
insurance  company  with  a  capital  of  $150,000  (divided  into  six 
thousand  shares  of  $25  each)  to  be  located  in  the  village  of 
Brooklyn.  It  was  incorporated  April  3d,  and  on  the  21st  of  May 
ensuing  the  Brooklyn  Fire  Insurance  Compaq  commenced  business 
at  their  office  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Front  and  Dock  streets 
in  the  village  of  Brooklyn  ;  William  Furnian,  president,  and 
Freeman  Hopkins,  secretary. 

March  21st.  In  the  district  school  room  of  the  village,  William 
C.  Hawley  was  ordained  pastor  over  the  First  Baptist  church  in 
the  place.  This  may  be  considered  as  the  establishment  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn. 

On  the  31st  of  the  same  month,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  for  a 
new  Episcopal  church,  about  to  be  erected  on  Washington  street,  in 
the  rear  of  the  former  edifice,  which  then  fronted  on  Sands  street.1 

received  $200  per  annum.  The  duties  of  the  board  related  to  the  general  conserva- 
tion of  the  health  of  the  village. 

"  As  early  as  1809,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  this  town,  the 
inhabitants  met  together  in  consequence  of  repeated  solicitations  from  the  common 
council  of  New  York,  and  after  stating  in  their  proceedings,  that  reports  prevailed 
that  disease  exists  to  an  alarming  extent  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  they  appointed 
the  following  gentlemen  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  state  of 
the  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  town,  and  to  act  as  the  case  in  their  opinion  may 
require,  viz :  William  Furrnan,  John  Garrison,  Burdet  Stryker,  Henry  Stanton,  and 
Andrew  Mercein."  A  sum  of  money  was  raised  by  subscription  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  this  committee. 

In  the  year  1819,  the  trustees,  although  not  strictly  invested  with  power,  yet 
feeling  the  necessity  of  acting  with  some  degree  of  energy,  in  order  to  quiet  the  fears 
of  the  inhabitants,  arising  from  reports  of  the  existence  of  a  pestilential  disease  in 
New  York,  published  an  address ;  in  which  they  state,  that  "  during  this  season  of 
alarm,  they  have  not  been  unmindful  of  that  part  of  their  duty  incumbent  on  them 
as  a  Board  of  Health  for  the  village,"  and  that  "  measures  have  been  taken  to  obtain 
from  time  to  time,  a  report  of  the  state  of  health  throughout  the  village,  that  the 
inhabitants  may  be  early  apprised  of  any  change  affecting  their  welfare. —  Far  mail's 
Notes,  p.  72. 

'Furrnan  says  {Manuscripts,  vol.  in,  p.  80),  that  "  There  was  considerable  excite- 
ment and  difference  of  opinion  in  this  congregation,  relative  to  the  location  of  their 


216  '  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  this  year,  several  cases  of 
varioloid  occurred  in  the  town,  and  also  many  cases  of  the  real 
small-pox.  At  the  same  time  the  varioloid  and  small-pox  prevailed 
quite  extensively  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

April.  The  town  of  Brooklyn,  outside  of  the  village,  contained 
160  dwelling  houses,  31  of  which  were  of  stone  and  brick  fronts, 
and  the  remainder  of  wood.  The  town  of  Brooklyn,  including 
the  village,  contained  the  following  number  of  houses : 

Village,  March,  182!, 626 

Increase  to  January,  1823, 82 

April,  1824, 157 


865 
To  which  add  the  number  of  houses  in  the  town, 160 


1025 
Of  which  1,025,  146  were  of  stone  or  brick,  and  the  remainder  of  wood.1 

May  19th.  The  Bank  Coffee  House,  No.  27  Fulton  street,  was 
opened  by  a  ball ;  the  house  was  at  that  time  the  most  elegant 
affair  of  the  kind  in  the  village,  being  handsomely  furnished  and 
its  walls  painted  in  landscape. 

May  20th.  Alden  Spooner,  publisher  of  the  Star,  proposes  to 
issue  that  sheet  twice  a  week.  In  his  prospectus  he  says,  "  The 
great  increase  in  the  population  and  business  of  Brooklyn,  call  for 
corresponding  changes  in  the  various  establishments  which  con- 
new  church.  A  writer,  under  the  signature  of  A  Pewholder,  recommended  taking 
down  the  old  church  and  erecting  tlie  new  one  on  its  site.  The  rector,  Henry  U. 
Onderdonk,  wrote  a  circular  in  opposition  to  the  Pewholder,  and  wished  the  new 
church  erected  at  the  rear  of  the  old  one.  The  Pewholder  answered  tlie  Rev.  gentle- 
man, and  requested  the  pewholders  to  hold  a  meeting  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Onderdonk, 
finding  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  gave  notice  from  the  pulpit  the  next  day  after  the 
appearance  of  the  Pewholder's  answer,  being  the  sabbath,  that  the  corner  stone 
would  be  laid  this  day." 

1  Furman's  Manuscript  Notes,  which  also  supplies  the  following  details : 

On  the  Turnpike  road,  from  the  village  line  to  the  junction  of  the  Jamaica  and 
Flatbush  roads,  thirty  houses,  of  which  two  were  stone,  one  brick  front  and  the  re- 
mainder wood.  On  the  Gowanus  lane,  from  the  Brooklyn,  Jamaica  and  Flatbush 
turnpike  road  to  the  Mill  road,  thirteen  houses,  one  of  which  was  stone,  the  remain- 
der wood.     On  the  Mill  road,  from  Gowanus  lane  to  Red  Hook  lane,  thirteen  houses, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  217 

tribute  to  our  interest,  and  our  enjoyments."  He  proposed,  as  soon 
as  three  hundred  subscribers  could  be  obtained,  to  issue  the  Star 
twice  a  week,  printed  on  a  half  sheet  of  its  present  size,  at  $3.50 
per  annum,  and  also  to  continue  the  weekly  issue  of  the  paper  as 
heretofore. 

Not  least  among  the  improvements,  which  indicated  that  the 
hitherto  shiftless  village  had  woke  up,  was  the  care  which  the  author- 
ities began  to  exhibit  for  the  removal  of  nuisances,  the  cleansing  of 
the  streets,  and  other  measures  pertaining  to  the  health,  appearance 
and  welfare  of  the  place.  On  the  19th  of  May,  the  trustees  passed 
a  law  to  regulate  the  cleansing  of  Fulton,  Main,  Front,  Water, 
Elizabeth  and  Doughty  streets,  which  required  that  said  streets 
should  be  swept,  and  the  dirt  and  rubbish  collected  in  heaps  every 
Tuesday  and  Friday  morning,  between  the  first  day  of  April  and 
the  first  day  of  December,  before  ten  o'clock,  under  the  penalty 
of  $2,  for  every  offense.  Later  in  the  season,  the  following 
notice  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Star  "  The  inhabitants  of 
Fulton  street,  Main  street,  Front  street  and  Water  street,  are 
informed  that  a  cart  will  pass  through  said  streets  every  Wednesday 
morning  and  Saturday  morning,  between  the  hours  of  9  and  11, 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  their  kitchen  garbage.  A  bell  will  be 
rung  by  the  driver  of  the  said  cart  to  give  the  inhabitants  notice 
of  its  approach.  N".  B.  The  inhabitants  of  the  above  named 
streets  are  particularly  requested  to  sprinkle  the  pavement  in  front 
of  their  houses,  immediately  before  sweeping.  By  order  of  the 
board  of  trustees.    John  Dikeman,  clerk,  Brooklyn,  July  1, 1824." 

all  of  wood.  On  the  Red  Hook  lane,  and  adjoining,  sixteen  houses,  all  of  wood. 
Along  the  shore  of  the  East  river  and  on  the  hill  to  the  south  of  the  village  of 
Brooklyn,  ten  houses,  all  of  wood.  On  the  Flatbush  turnpike  road,  from  its  junction 
with  the  Jamaica  turnpike  road  to  the  town  line,  eight  houses,  all  of  wood.     On  the 

•    lane  leading  from  Flatbush  turnpike  road  to  Gowanus  |  post  road),  one  house  of  wood. 

'  On  the  Jamaica  turnpike  road,  from  its  junction  with  the  Flatbush  turnpike  road 
to  the  town  line,  twenty-six  houses,  six  of  which  were  stone,  one  brick  front  and  the 
rest  wood.  On  the  Bushwkk  road,  from  the  village  line  to  the  town  line,  thirteen 
houses,  five  of  which  were  stone.  On  the  road  toward*  Williamsburgh,  along  the 
shore  of  the  Wallabout  bay  to  the  town  line,  were  nine  houses,  Jive  of  winch  were 
stone,  the  remainder  wood.  On  the  Gowanus  road,  to  the  bounds  of  the  town,  were 
Jifttt  u  houses,  six  of  which  were  stone.  In  other  parts  of  the  town,  not  enumerated 
above,  were  six  houses,  four  of  which  were  stone  and  the  rest  wood. 

28 


218  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

May,  1824.  The  following  notice  appeared  first  in  the  Long 
Island  Patriot,  printed  in  Brooklyn;  in  the  National  Advocate,  of 
New  York  ;  and  subsequently  in  the  village  Star.  Its  resuscitation 
here  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  project  originated  in  Brooklyn, 
where  it  was  designed  to  locate  the  bank.  As  a  straw  showing 
the  drift  of  the  popular  current  of  enterprise  and  speculation  which 
seemed  to  be  filling  the  sails  of  the  now  active  little  village,  it  is 
by  no  means  uninteresting,  although  it  seems  to  have  been  abortive 
in  results. 

Notice  is  hereby  given,  that  application  will  be  made  to  the  legisla- 
ture, at  their  next  session,  for  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the  Long  Island 
Canal  Company,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  canal  on  the  south  side  of  the 
island,  from  Gravesend  bay  to  Jamaica  bay,  and  from  thence  across  Rockaway 
to  the  Great  South  bay,  and  from  thence  to  Canoe  place,  or  Southampton 
bay;  and  further,  if  thought  practicable  by  the  directors  of  the  company,  to 
have  permission,  by  a  side  cut,  to  connect  Canoe  place  or  Southampton  bay, 
with  the  Sagharbor  or  Southold  bay,  and  also,  to  connect  Southampton  bay 
with  Micox  or  Sagg  bay ;  and  further  to  continue  to  Georgian  pond,  in  the 
town  of  Easthampton,  with  a  capital  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with 
the  privilege  of  making  use  of  any  surplus  funds  in  banking  operations. 
New  York,  May  26th,  1824. 

In  May,  also,  a  distillery  for  the  manufacture  of  spirits  of 
turpentine,  having  a  high  pressure  steam  engine  and  an  iron 
boiler,  was  erected  at  the  corner  of  York  and  Adams  streets,  by 
David  T.  Cooper,  Esq. 

June  10th.  A  special  town  meeting  was  held  agreeable  to  the 
request  of  twelve  freeholders,  at  the  house  of  J.  F.  L.  Duflon,  for 
the  purpose  of  hearing  the  report  of  a  committee  appointed  at  the 
last  annual  town  meeting,  to  view  and  determine  upon  a  suitable 
location  for  a  poorhouse  and  hospital.  The  committee  reported 
that  they  had  examined  two  small  farms,  one  situated  near  Fort 
Greene,  within  a  mile  of  the  village,  containing  nineteen  and 
three-fourth  acres,  and  offered  for  $3,750;  the  other  located  near 
the  toll  gate  at  the  junction  of  the  Gowanus  road  and  the  Flatbush 
turnpike,  containing  twenty-five  acres,  and  offered  for  $5,000. 
The  majority  of  the  committee  concurred  in  advising  the  purchase 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  219 

of  the  first  named  farm  near  Fort  Greene  for  the  following  rea- 
lons:  1st,  its  proximity  to  the  village,  which  was  considered  as 
-•  very  important  as  respects  carting  for  the  establishment,  and  par- 
ticularly the  carting  of  wood,  for  the  poor  families  of  the  villa 
2'/.  It  was  conveniently  near  the  village  "  on  account  of  funeral-." 
:•}■/.  On  account  of  the  excellent  landing  at  the  foot  of  the  Walla- 
bout  bridge.  4th.  The  land  was  capable  of  cultivation,  or  of  some 
profitable  improvement,  possessing  a  fine  and  airy  situation,  and  a 
good  well  of  water.  Two  of  the  committee  entered  a  minority 
report,  objecting  to  the  purchase  of  the  Fort  Greene  property, 
because  it  was  contiguous  to  six  powder  magazines,  and  contained, 
in  their  opinion,  less  tillable  ground  than  the  other  site.  At  an 
adjourned  town  meeting  held  on  the  12th  of  July,  the  committee 
reported  that  they  had  effected  the  purchase  of  the  Fort  Greene 
property,  from  Left'ert  Lefferts,  Esq. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  committee  which  had  beeu  appointed 
on  the  10th  of  June,  previous,  to  examine  the  condition  of  the 
powder  magazines  on  Fort  Greene,  with  special  reference  to 
the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  their  proximity  to  the  newly 
purchased  site  for  the  alms  house,  etc.,  reported  that  they  had 
carefully  examined  the  magazines  kept  by  Messrs.  Gerard  and 
Stanton,  five  in  number,  containing  respectively  250,  600,  800, 
100,1,600;  in  all  3,350  casks  of  powder.  These  were  found  in 
creditable  repair  and  condition.  The  sixth  and  largest  magazine, 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  could  not  be  examined.  The 
committee  expressed  their  unanimous  opinion,  that  great  danger 
was  to  be  apprehended  from  an  explosion  on  Fort  Greene,  which 
might  prove  injurious,  not  only  to  the  public  buildings,  but  to 
the  village  of  Brooklyn,  which  was  beginning  to  extend  in  that 
direction,  as  also,  to  the  village  of  Bedford.  In  accordance  with 
this  report,  the  meeting  passed  a  resolution  to  petition  the  legisla- 
ture, for  the  passage  of  an  act  forbidding  the  storage  of  gunpow- 
der at  Fort  Greene. 

June  12.  The  new  Methodist  chapel  on  York  street  was  con- 
secrated. It  was  a  neat  wood  edifice,  erected  during  the  previous 
spring,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  members  of  that  denomina- 
tion residing  near  the  Navy  Yard. 


220  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

June  17th.  James  Foster,  of  Jamaica,  Jeremiah  Lott,  of  Flat- 
bush,  Ralph  Malbone,  Joseph  Moser  and  Lossee  Van  Nostrand 
of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  gave  public  notice,  in  the  Long  Island 
Star,  that  they,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  associates,  intended 
to  make  application  to  the  legislature,  for  an  act  of  incorporation 
with  banking  privileges,  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Long  Island 
Farmers  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $400,000,  with 
privilege  to  increase  the  same  to  $600,000.  The  said  bank  to  be 
located  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn. 

On  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  at  a  meeting  of  the  mechanics 
of  Brooklyn,  at  the  Bank  Coffee  House,  measures  were  adopted 
for  the  formation  of  a  Mechanics'  Society  in  the  village. 

During  this  month  several  improvements  were  made  in  the 
village.  Orange  street  was  opened  into  Fulton  street,  by  taking 
down  the  small,  ancient  wooden  dwelling  house  No.  153  Fulton 
street.  Water  street,  between  Main  and  Washington,  and  which 
was  previously  an  almost  impassable  slough,  was  raised  and  regu- 
lated. Prospect  street  was  also  regulated,  "  Here  the  hills  literally 
bow  their  heads,  and  the  valleys  are  exalted."  The  rocks  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  street,  formerly  an  incumbrance  on  the  ground, 
were  blasted  and  converted  into  building  stone ;  and  the  ground 
on  the  hills,  before  considered  of  little  account,  became  so  valuable, 
that  boards  were  erected  thereon  inscribed,  "  All  persons  are 
forbid  taking  any  of  this  earth." 

This  month  also,  Jethro  Mitchell  &  Co.  purchased  H.  B.  Pierre- 
pont's  distillery  near  the  junction  of  Furman  and  Joralemon 
streets,  and  converted  the  same  into  a  spermaceti  manufactory. 

The  third  Directory  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  this  month  pub- 
lished by  Alden  Spoon er,  at  the  office  of  the  Long  Island  Star,  No. 
50  Fulton  street,  contains  1,329  names,  being  an  increase  of  122 
over  those  contained  in  the  directory  for  1823. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  there  were  lying  at  the  wharves  in  the  vil- 
lage, 8  ships,  6  hermaphrodite  brigs,  10  brigs,  20  schooners,  12 
sloops.  Total  56,  being  17  more  than  on  July  1,  1823.  In  the 
Navy  Yard  were  also  10  vessels. 

July  1st.  Joseph  Sprague  and  Alden  Spooner  gave  public 
notice  by  advertisement  in  the  Long  Island  Star  that  they,  in 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  221 

behalf  of  themselves  and  their  associates,  would  make  application 

to  the  legislature  of  the  state  at  their  next  session  for  an  act  of 
incorporation  under  the  style  of  The  Brooklyn  Gas  Light  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  8150,000,  for  the  purpose  of  lighting  streets, 
dwellings  and  manufactories  with  gas. 

Mr.  Sprague  has  left,  in  his  Manuscript  Autobiography ',  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  inception  of  this  enterprise.  "  About 
this  time,"  says  he,  "  Alden  Spooner  and  myself,  for  amusement, 
made  application  for  a  Gas  Light  Company,  fully  aware  that 
Brooklyn  could  not  then  sustain  it.  We  inserted  a  notice  for  it, 
without  the  least  thought  of  asking  the  legislature  to  grant  it, 
desirous  only  to  create  a  little  sensation.  After  our  notice 
appeared,  another  set  of  gentlemen  demanded  a  withdrawal  of  it, 
asserting  that  they  only  were  the  rightful  heirs  to  such  a  privi- 
lege, and  declaring  that  they  would  drive  us  from  the  field.1 
Such  impertinence  roused  our  yankee  blood  to  yield  to  no  such 
demand;  believing  that  as  citizens  we  had  rights.  The  demand 
being  persisted  in,  it  was  determined  that  I  should  go  to  Albany 
for  a  charter,  which  I  did;  and  without  delay,  procured  its  passage 
through  the  assembly,  when  the  other  gentlemen  appeared,  with 
counsel,  and  assured  me  that  I  might  go  home.  Knowing  that 
one  charter  could  not  be  sustained,  and  two  much  less,  I  allowed 
them  to  pass  their  bill  through  the  assembly.  We  were  now  both 
in  the  senate,  where  I  had  enough  friends,  clearly  ascertained,  by 
whose  advice  I  was  warranted  in  saying  to  the  other  gentlemen 
that  they  might  go  home  with  their  counsel.  They  finally  retired, 
while  I  remained,  adding  by  agreement  a  part  of  them  as  directors, 
and  thus  passed  the  bill  that  is  now  giving  light  to  Brooklyn. 
The  stock  was  all  taken  up  and  immediately  sold  at  ten  per  cent 
advance,  such  being  the  misguided  zeal,  at  that  time,  for  any  kind 
of  stocks.     It  was   amusing  to  see  the  estimation  of  directors, 

lw  Notice  is  hereby  given,  that  application  will  he  made  to  the  legislature  of 
this  state  at  the  next,  or  the  succeeding  session  for  an  act  of  incorporation  to  be 
styled  The  Gas  Light  Company,  with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
for  the  purpose  of  lighting  streets,  manufactories,  dwellings,  stables,  etc.,  in  the  town 
of  Brooklyn ;  and  when  the  annual  income  shall  exceed  8  per  cent,  one-half  of  such 
-  shall  go  to  the  support  of  the  poor  of  said  town." —  Long  Island  Patriot,  July 
8,  18-24. 


222  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

claiming  great  sagacity  in  counting  up  the  fortunes  to  be  made 
by  gas  !  It  was  doubly  amusing  to  witness  the  infatuated -dignity 
of  the  directors  in  their  meetings,  over  a  worthless  charter,  yet  to 
them  a  rjch  placer  of  gold.  The  directors  monopolized  nearly  all 
the  stock,  and  resolved  that  no  one  should  sell  a  share  without  the 
consent  of  the  board.  Various  committees  were  put  in  motion, 
lots  bought  for  gas  works,  plans  and  estimates  examined,  until 
the  great  men  of  the  day  became  convinced  that  to  proceed  would 
end  in  something  more  than  gas.  At  this  juncture,  I  moved  that 
the  money  paid  in  be  refunded,  and  all  operations  discontinued 
until  theincrease  of  Brooklyn  should  afford  a  reasonable  prospect 
of  supporting  a  gas  company,  which  suggestion  was  adopted,  and 
the  money  honestly  returned  with  interest." 

July.  During  this  month,  an  iron  foundery  was  established  on 
Water  street,  between  Fulton  and  Dock  streets,  by  Alexander 
Birbeck,  being  the  first  iron  foundery  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn. 

On  the  8th  of  the  same  month,  John  Garrison,  John  G.  Mur- 
phy, Samuel  Smith,  Tunis  Joralemon,  Isaac  Moser,  George 
Smith,  John  Moon,  Rodman  Bowne  and  Evert  Barkeloo  gave 
public  notice,  in  the  columns  of  the  Long  Island  Patriot,  of  their 
intention  to  apply  to  the  legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation 
with  banking  privileges,  under  the  style  of  the  Nassau  Bank,  with 
a  capital  of  $300,000,  the  bank  to  be  located  in  the  village  of 
Brooklyn. 

On  Wednesday,  August  10th,  Lafayette  visited  Brooklyn,  ex- 
amined the  war  steamer  Fulton,  at  William sburgh,  and  visited 
the  navy  yard,  where  on  the  deck  of  the  Washington,  '74,  he  was 
introduced  to  the  board  of  trustees  and  a  large  number  of  the 
citizens  of  Brooklyn,  including  a  numerous  concourse  of  ladies. 

The  Brooklyn  Insurance  Company  was  chartered  this  year. 

This  year,  1824,  the  real  estate  in  this  town  was  assessed  at 
$2,111,390,  and  the  personal  estate  at  $488,690 ;  being  consider- 
ably more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  value  of  the  county,  the 
state,  county  and  town  tax,  of  which  amounts  to  $6,497.71.  At 
this  period  there  are  in  the  village  1,149  taxable  persons,  and 
the  village  tax  amounts  to  $2,625.76,  averaging  about  $2.29  each 
taxable  person.     This  village  tax  includes  $450,  raised  to  meet 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK M  N.  223 

the  expenses  of  the  board  of  health,  and  is  exclusive  of  all  local 
3sment8  for  opening  and  improving  streets,  etc. 

The  receipts  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  this  town,  for  the 
bear  1823,  amounted  to  $3,108.77,  and  their  expenditures  to 
$3,469.49,  leaving  a  balance  of  $360.72,  against  the  town.1 

During  the  year  1824,  143  frame  dwelling  houses  were  built  in 
the  village. 

1825.  January.  A  portion  of  the  ground  near  Fort  Greene, 
lately  purchased  by  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  was  appropriated  for 
a  cemetery,  and  divided  into  convenient  parcels,  which  were 
allotted  to  the  different  religious  denominations  of  the  town,  viz  : 
Dutch  Reformed,  Friends,  Presbyterians,  Roman  Catholic,  Me- 
thodist Episcopalian,  TJniversalist,  Episcopalian,  Baptist,  and  a 
Common  Plot.2 

On  the  21st  of  this  month,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at 
Dunon's,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  secure  the  removal  of  the 
county  courts  and  jail,  from  Flatbush  to  Brooklyn. 

February  25th.  A  flag  stone  walk  was  laid  from  the  gate  of 
the  Old  or  Fulton  Ferry,  to  the  Steamboat  Hotel,3  a  large  wooden 
building,  which  stood  on  the  easterly  corner  of  Fulton  and  Water 
streets  in  Brooklyn.     It  was  the  first  loalk  ever  laid  to  the  ferry. 

June.  Several  sales  of  real  estate,  about  this  time,  indicate  the 
rapidly  growing  value  of  Brooklyn  property,  especially  that  of  the 
site  of  the  old  alms  house,  on  Nassau  street.  The  foundation  of 
the  Apprentices'  Library  in  Cranberry  street  (the  present  arsenal), 
was  laid  this  season.  The  five  trustees  of  the  village  held  their 
meetings  in  a  room  over  a  grocery  store  (about  "No.  23),  within  a 
few  doors  of  Fulton  Ferry.  "It  was  the  custom,"  says  the  late 
Mayor  Sprague,  one  of  the  trustees,  "as  soon  as  the  board 
assembled,  to  order  decanters  of  rum,  brandy,  gin,  and  crackers 
and  cheese.  At  the  close  of  the  year  there  was  an  animated  dis- 
cussion, whether  we  five  trustees  should  eat  a  supper  of  oysters 
at  the  public  expense.  It  was  finally  decided  to  be  not  only  im- 
politic, but  illegal,  and  so  we  ate  at  our  own  expense,  of  one  shilling 
each."     Corporation  proceedings  were  now  first  published  in  the 

1  Fa  rman's  Notes,  90.  2  See,  also,  Brooklyn  Eagle,  January  36th,  26th,  39th,  1844. 
*  Ante,  50. 


224  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Star,  but  a  motion  to  allow  the  editors  to  copy  the  minutes  of  the 
board  for  publication,  was  negatived. 

A  committee  of  the  town  reported  favorably  to  the  extension 
of  Tillary  street,  from  the  village  line  to  the  town  property  on 
the  easterly  side  of  the  meadows. 

The  great  event  of  the  4th  of  July,  this  year,  was  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone  of  the  new  Apprentices'  Library,  by  the  great 
and  revered  General  Lafayette.  The  day  was  fine,  and  a  large 
and  imposing  procession  took  place,  together  with  an  address  by 
Clarence  D.  Sackett,  Esq.1 

The  village  population  at  this  time,  according  to  the  census, 
was  8,800,  of  which  4,476  were  males,  being  a  gain  since  1820, 
of  3,590. 

The  spot  for  erection  of  the  long  promised,  but  yet  unbuilt 
market,  was  selected  in  James  street. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  a  public  meeting  was  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  a  bill  proposed  by  a  committee  for  the  organ- 
ization of  a  city  government.  It  was  rejected  by  the  meeting,  which 
was  adjourned  for  twenty-one  years. 

The  Brooklyn  White  Lead  Company,  the  oldest  of  the  city,  or 
state,  was  established  by  the  brothers  Graham. 

1826.  The  progress  of  the  village,  during  this  year  continued  to 
afford  ample  proof  of  the  earnest,  buoyant  spirit  which  animated 
its  citizens.  They  seemed  fully  awake  to  all  the  requirements  of 
the  times,  and  unceasingly  active  in  the  development  of  resources 
and  the  prosecution  of  all  needed  improvements. 

A  new  steamboat,  being  the  third,  was  placed  on  the  Fulton 
Ferry  (Feb.  9th),  and  during  the  month  of  March,  measures  were 
taken  which  resulted,  in  June  following,  in  the  granting  of  a  New 
South  Ferry  at  Pierrepont's  dock.  In  August,  a  new  steamboat 
ferry  was  put  in  operation  between  Jackson  street,  Brooklyn,  and 
Walnut  street,  New  York.  In  March,  also,  was  submitted  to  the 
legislature,  a  project  for  the  creation  of  a  Long  Island  Canal. 

In  February,  a  former  project  for  removing  the  Court  House 
and  Jail  from  Flatbush  to  Brooklyn,  was  renewed  ;  and  in  March 

1  See,  also,  Sketch  of  the  Apprentices'  Library  in  this  volume. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  225 

the  new  market  was  commenced  in  James  street,  being  completed 
and  in  successful  operation  about  the  last  of  November.  This 
market,  together  with  other  village  improvements,  was  paid  for  by 
a  village  stock  created  for  the  purpose  in  June  of  the  same  year. 

March  30th.  Erastus  Worthington  succeeded  Thomas  King, 
as  postmaster.1 

On  the  3d  of  May,  the  board  of  trustees  assembled  for  the  first 
time  in  the  new  and  recently  finished  Apprentices'  Library  build- 
ing in  Cranberry  street.  The  erection  of  this  edifice  seems  to 
have  given  a  considerable  impetus  to  the  literary  interests  of  the 
village,  as  we  find  that,  in  August,  a  library  was  being  collected 
for  colored  people ;  and  in  November  following,  a  free  reading  and 
conversation  room  was  established  in  the  basement  of  the  Library 
building.  On  the  4th  of  July,  also,  the  apprentices  and  school 
children  of  the  village,  went  in  procession  to  the  Library  where  an 
appropriate  address  was  delivered  by  Joseph  Hegemen,  and  a  banner 
presented  to  them  by  the  president  of  the  institution.  On  the 
same  day,  also,  the  military,  fire  department  and  civic  societies 
paraded  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  a  building  devoted 
to  the  Sunday  School  and  located  in  Prospect  street  (Nos.  33  and 
35)  near  Adams.  It  was  built  of  wood,  two  stories  high,  32  by 
50  feet  (see  page  29,  and  Appendix  i,  of  this  volume). 

On  the  9th  of  May,  the  corner-stone  of  St.  John's  (Episcopal) 
church  was  laid ;  and  on  the  12th  of  October,  the  new  Baptist  meet- 
ing house  in  Pearl,  between  Nassau  and  Concord  streets  was  first 
opened  for  public  use.  On  the  11th  of  the  same  month,  occurred 
the  installation  of  the  Nassau  Chapter  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons. 

On  the  first  of  May,  an  election  took  place  under  the  provisions 
of  the  amended  village  act,  which  gave  two  trustees  to  each  of  the 
five  districts,  instead  of  one,  as  before.  On  the  20th  of  June,  a 
survey  and  map  of  the  village  was  ordered  by  the  corporation. 

1  Erastus  Worthixgton,  a  native  of  Colchester,  Conn.,  and  the  village  post-master, 
was  for  several  years  connected  with  the  Long  Island  Star,  and  by  his  intelligence, 
activity,  courteous  and  winning  manners,  and  his  enthusiastic  love  of  music,  became  a 
necessary  man  to  Brooklyn  society.  His  career  was  prematurely  closed  by  con- 
sumption ;  a  widow  and  daughter  still  survive  him. 

29 


226  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  excise  money,  this  year  paid  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor, 
amounted  to  §3,627.  In  August,  the  corporation  received  from 
the  secretary  of  the  navy,  a  letter  of  remonstrance  against  the 
filling  up,  by  their  authority,  of  the  Mill  pond  at  the  Wallabout. 
The  Jacob  Patchen  law  case  commenced  April  22,  and  ended  only 
with  his  death. 

September.  Dr.  Evans  purchased  nearly  twenty  acres  of  wood- 
land on  the  height  known  as  Mount  Prospect.  The  ground, 
which  cost  him  nearly  $3,500,  was  originally  very  rough  and  un- 
even, and  plentifully  covered  with  rocks  and  stones.  Several 
cottages  were  erected,  surrounded  by  handsome  fences,  sidewalks, 
etc. ;  fruit  trees  were  planted,  and  the  land,  by  a  systematic  and 
liberal  expenditure,  was  brought  into  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
Stimulated  by  the  public  spirit  of  the  first  proprietors,  the  owners 
of  the  adjoining  fields  were  induced  to  follow  in  his  footsteps,  and 
the  improvements  which  were  thus  inaugurated,  gave  an  increased 
value  to  the  property  in  that  portion  of  the  town. 

A  movement  was  also  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  park  or 
promenade  along  the  Heights,  which  then  retained  much  of  their 
original  appearance.  A  petition  on  the  subject  being  presented 
to  the  corporation,  they  appointed  a  committee,  who  shortly  after 
reported  that  they  found  insurmountable  difficulties  in  carrying 
out  the  project. 

1827.  January  1st.  The  citizens  of  Brooklyn  commenced  the 
new  year,  by  holding  a  meeting,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to 
petition  the  legislature  for  an  act  to  prevent  the  storage  of  gun- 
powder within  certain  limits  of  the  town.  During  this  month, 
also,  the  county  court  began  to  hold  its  sessions  in  this  place. 
The  Greek  mania  seems  to  have  revived  again,  and  in  March 
following,  the  Brooklyn  committee  paid  for  the  aid  of  that  nation, 
$2,675  in  cash,  besides  a  quantity  of  merchandise. 

February.  During  this  month,  the  project  of  uniting  Brook- 
lyn to  the  city  of  New  York  was  a  matter  of  public  discussion, 
and  interest.  The  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  church,  in  Brooklyn,  formed  during  the  month 
of  January,  held  its  first  annual  meeting,  February  6th,  1827, 
having  fifty-eight  enrolled  members,  and  having  collected  a  fund 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  227 

■4.50.  The  officers  were  John  Skillman,  president;  Adriance 
Van   Brunt,   vice-president;    Abraham   Suydam,    treasurer   and 

■iary;  Daniel  R.  Remsen,  John  Schenck,  Jacob  S.  Moon, 
Teunis  G.  Bergen,  Simon  J.  Bergen,  Cornelius  Van  Cleef,  Bar- 
net  Johnson,  and  Adrian  V.  Cortelyou,  managers. 

March.  The  corporation  appropriated  the  sum  of  $500  for  the 
purpose  of  boring  an  artesian  well  for  water,  at  the  new  market  in 
James  street ;  and  in  May  following,  a  committee  reported  that 
a  cast-iron  cylindrical  shaft,  nine  inches  in  diameter,  had  been 
sunk  ninety  feet,  with  a  rise  of  water  to  the  height  of  seventy 
feet  in  the  tube.  The  corporation  thereupon  resolved  to  suspend 
boring,  and  introduce  a  pump,  which  worked  so  poorly,  that  in 
October,  the  pipes  were  ordered  to  be  taken  up,  and  a  well  dug 
on  the  same  spot  in  the  usual  way.  Thus  ended  the  corporation's 
great  bore. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  Alden  Spooner,  Esq.,  commenced  the 
publication  of  a  daily  paper,  called  the  Brooklyn  Evening  Star, 
which  was  discontinued  at  the  end  of  six  months,  from  want  of 
sufficient  patronage.  On  the  7th  of  this  month,  the  Brooklyn 
Savings  Bank  received  its  charter.  This  institution  was  primarily 
projected,  in  the  summer  of  1826,  by  the  directors  and  friends  of 
the  Apprentices'  Library  Association,  with  a  view  to  benefit 
adult  mechanics.  Its  first  officers  were  Adrian  Van  Sinderen, 
president ;  Hezekiah  B.  Pierrepont  and  Adam  Treadwell,  vice- 
presidents;  Abraham  Vanderveer,  treasurer;  James  S.  Clark, 
secretary;  Robert  Nichols,  accountant,  all  of  whom  served  with- 
out compensation. 

September  9th.  An  election  of  village  officers  took  place  under 
the  amended  charter,  Mr.  Joseph  Sprague  being  reelected  presi- 
dent, without  opposition.  In  three  of  the  five  districts,  there  was 
no  opposition  ticket.  On  the  25th,  the  corner-stone  of  the  African 
School  House  was  laid,  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  by  the  Wool- 
man  Benevolent  Society.  On  the  same  day  a  meeting  was  held, 
to  consider  the  feasibility  of  establishing  a  female  seminary, 
which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  edifice  on  Hicks  street,  now 
known  as  the  Mansion  House.  The  Brooklyn  Collegiate  Institution 
for  young  ladies,   was  incorporated  in   1839,  with 'a  capital  of 


228  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

$30,000,  the  whole  of  which  was  expended  in  the  erection  of  this 
building.  The  institution  after  a  few  years'  evanescent  prosperity, 
was  abandoned  from  lack  of  patronage,  and  is  now  occupied  as  a 
hotel  and  boarding  house,  under  the  name  of  the  Mansion  House. 
Sept.  26th,  the  board  of  trustees  voted  to  pay  a  salary  of  $500  to 
the  justices  and  $200  to  the  clerk  of  the  municipal  court;  and 
Sept.  27th  is  memorable  as  the  date  of  the^rs^  night  boat  on  the 
Fulton  Ferry. 

1828.  On  the  7th  of  February,  Messrs.  Leffert  Lefferts  and 
Jeremiah  Johnson,  a  committee  of  the  town,  and  Messrs.  E.  Ray- 
mond, Hez.  B.  Pierrepont  and  D.  Leavitt,  a  committee  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Brooklyn,  held  a  conference  on  the  subject  of  a  separate 
and  distinct  jurisdiction.  Among  the  reasons  adduced  in  favor 
of  this  action,  were  the  following:  1.  It  was  improper  to  have 
two  distinct  and  separate  powers  operating  in  the  same  place. 
2.  The  town  collectively  was  too  populous  for  the  proper  transac- 
tion of  business  at  town  meetings.  3.  It  was  impolitic  to  have 
an  agricultural  community  and  their  concerns  controlled  by  those 
of  other  occupations.  4.  The  existing  laws  relative  to  paupers 
and  the  management  of  the  poor  house  were  not  applicable  to  a 
population  of  12,000 ;  and  the  district  provisions  in  relation  to  the 
support  and  maintenance  of  the  village  poor,  and  the  poor  of  the 
residue  of  the  town  would  be  destructive  of  economy.  5.  Because 
the  town's  people  were  not  properly  represented  in  county  matters. 
6.  Because  taxation,  legislature  and  representation  ought  to  be 
connected. 

March.  The  first  proposition  to  light  Fulton  street  was  made, 
the  cost  of  each  lamp  being  estimated  at  $14.31  per  annum.  The 
excise  of  the  year  was  estimated  in  the  town  account,  the  same  as 
the  previous  year,  at  $2,865.65 ;  $5,000  was  also  raised  to  support 
the  poor,  and  pay  the  present  debt  of  the  town. 

April.  An  ox  cart,  owned  by  the  village,  and  used  for  collect- 
ing and  removing  dirt  and  garbage  from  the  streets,  was  found 
so  economical,  as  to  cause  a  proposition  for  the  purchase  of 
another.  Two  months  later,  these  ox  carts,  the  suggestion  of  the 
worthy  president  of  the  village,  Mr.  Sprague,  were  stated  to  have 
fairly  paid  their  cost  and  the  labor  of  gathering  the  manure. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  229 

May.  A  theatn  was  erected,  about  this  time,  in  Fulton  street, 
between  Nassau  and  Concord  streets,  but  was  subsequently 
abandoned,  and  converted  into  dwelling  houses. 

August  9th.  President  Adams  visited  the  Navy  Yard  at  this 
place. 

1829.  February.  The  president  made  a  report  relative  to  fit- 
ting up  a  prison  room  under  the  market,  for  debtors!  A  public 
meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  the  great  distress, 
which  prevailed  among  the  poor,  for  whose  benefit  $5,488.22  was 
this  year  expended. 

April.  The  road  of  the  Wallabout  and  Bedford  Turnpike 
Company  was  accepted  as  a  public  highway.  Furman,  in  his 
Manuscript  Notes,1  speaks,  under  date  of  April  7th,  of  returning 
from  Bedford  by  the  new  road,  just  opened  from  near  the  Brooklyn 
Alms  House,  at  the  Wallabout  to  Bedford.  "This  road,"  says  he, 
"runs  through  a  pleasant  country,  but  there  is  not  now  a  single 
house  on  the  whole  line  of  it." 

On  the  6th  of  this  month,  the  Kings  County  Sabbath  School  Society 
was  formed.  Its  object  was  to  concentrate  the  efforts  of  sabbath 
school  societies,  to  disseminate  useful  information  upon  the  sub- 
ject, to  circulate  moral  and  religious  publications,  and  to  establish 
sabbath  schools  whenever  it  may  be  practicable  and  expedient  in 
the  county.  Its  officers  were  Xehemiah  Denton,  of  Brooklyn, 
president ;  John  Terhune,  vice-president;  N.  W.  Sandford,  2d  vice- 
president ;  Abraham  Vanderveer,  treasurer;  Evan  M.  Johnson, 
secretary.  Managers  for  Flatbush,  Messrs.  Rev.  Meeker,  Rouse, 
Strong,  Butie,  Crookshank  and  Carroll;  for  ilatlands,  John 
Lefferts,  Dr.  Vanderveer,  David  Nefus,  Johannis  Remseu  ;  for 
Gravesend,  B.  C.  Lake,  John  S.  Garrison;  for  New  Lotts,  John 
Williamson,  John  Vanderveer  ;  for  Brooklyn,  Eliakim  Raymond, 
Adrian  liegeman,  Richard  M.  White ;  for  Bush. wick,  Peter 
Wyckoff,  James  Halsey.  This  society,  which  was  auxiliary  to 
the  Southern  Sabbath  School  Union  of  the  state,  comprised  the 
following  schools:  Presbyterian  Church,  Baptist,  St.  John's 
Episcopal,    Reformed   Dutch    Church,   Baptist   Church,    corner 

1  Manuscripts,  vi,  90. 


230  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Jackson  and  Nassau  streets,  African  School,  Bedford,  Wallabout,1 
Gowanus,  Gowanus  Lane,  Second  Baptist  Church,  Brooklyn; 
Gravesend  Village ;  Gravesend  Neck ;  Bushwick  Church  ;  Flat- 
bush,  male  school,  Flatbush,  female  school;  Narrows;  New 
Utrecht  Lane,  New  Utrecht  Village ;  Flatlands  ;  Williamsburgh ; 
New  Lotts.2 

The  village  at  this  time  contained  some  300  youth,  200  of 
whom  attended  the  public  schools;  two  teachers  were  employed, 
and  $1,100  received  for  tuition,  part  of  which  was  devoted  to  the 
colored  schools.  A  new  school  district  was  also  set  off,  located 
between  the  ropewalks  and  military  garden,  whereon  a  school- 
house,  already  built,  had  been  gratuitously  offered. 

May.  A  correct  numbering  of  the  houses,  by  order  of  the 
corporation,  having  been  finally  effected,  a  directory  is  published 
at  the  Star  office. 

Furman' s  Manuscript  records,  at  this  time,  that  "  the  people  still 
continue  digging  for  Capt.  Kidd's  money,  in  and  about  Brooklyn. 
On  the  hills  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  several  large  round 
holes  where  they  have  been  searching  for  money."3  Similar 
searches  also  occurred  in  New  York  island,  about  this  time.  Mr. 
H..E.  Pierrepont,  informs  the  author  that  several  cases  have  oc- 
curred within  his  personal  knowledge,  of  such  explorations  taking 
place  on  the  Pierrepont  estate,  and  at  other  places  along  the 
Heights.     When  building  the  wall  on  Furman  street,  which  pro- 

1  The  Wallabout  Sabbath  School.—  In  the  year  1830,  a  sabbath  school  was 
formed  in  the  old  Wallabout  school  house,  then  situated  but  a  few  blocks  from 
where  the  present  flourishing  Lee  Avenue  school  is  now  found,  and  the  late  venera- 
ble Gen.  Jeremiah  Johnson,  its  first  and  only  superintendent.  "  The  neighborhood," 
says  W.  S.  in  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  1858,  "  was  then  thinly  settled,  consequently 
the  school  was  small ;  but  well  do  I  remember  the  interest  there  felt,  as  every  return- 
ing sabbath  brought  us  together  in  that  place,  superintendent,  teachers  and 
scholars.  I  have  now  gifts  in  my  possession  from  Jeremiah  Johnson  as  proofs  of  the 
interest  he  felt  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  children  of  his  school,  one  of  which  a 
Bible,  contains  a  few  words  of  wholesome  counsel,  with  his  well  known  autograph. 
We  little  thought  then,  as  we  assembled  from  sabbath  to  sabbath  in  the  old  red 
school-house,  that  in  a  few  years,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  that  place,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  nourishing  schools  in  the  city  would  be  established." 

2  Furman' 8  Manuscript  Notes. 

3  Furman 's  Manuscripts,  ix,  406. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  231 

tects  and  strengthens  the  face  of  the  Heights,  under  his  present 
residence,  two  of  the  laborers  unearthed  a  large  sum  of  money,  in 

coin,  amounting  it  was  said,  to  nearly  §3,000,  with  which,  it   is 
needless  to  add,  they  made  tracks  to  other  parts. 

On  June  4th.  A  frightful  accident  occurred  at  the  Navy  Yard, 
by  the  blowing  up  of  the  steam  frigate  Fulton,  forty-three  persons 
being  killed  and  wounded.1  The  following  interesting  account 
of  the  accident,  was  written  on  the  morning  after  the  explosion  : 

The  Fulton  has  ever  since  the  war  been  occupied  as  a  receiving  ship,  and 
was  moored  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  shore.  The  magazine  was  in 
the  bow  of  the  ship,  and  contained  at  the  time  of  the  explosion  but  three 
barrels  of  damaged  powder.  The  explosion  was  not  louder  than  that  pro- 
duced by  the  discharge  of  a  single  cannon ;  and  many  persons  in  the  Navy 
Yard  supposed  the  report  to  have  proceeded  from  such  a  source,  until  they 
saw  the  immense  column  of  smoke  arising  from  the  vessel.  Others  about 
the  yards  saw  the  masts  rising  into  the  air  before  the  explosion,  and  imme- 
diately after,  the  air  was  filled  with  fragments  of  the  vessel.  It  is  not  a  little 
remarkable,  that  a  midshipman,  who  was  at  the  time  of  the  accident,  asleep 
on  board  of  the  frigate  United  States,  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Fulton, 
was  not  at  all  disturbed  by  the  report  of  the  explosion,  and  was  not  aware  of 
the  occurrence,  until  he  was  told  of  it  after  he  awoke. 

The  Fulton  is  a  complete  wreck ;  the  bow  being  destroyed  nearly  to  the 
water,  and  the  whole  of  this  immense  vessel,  whose  sides  were  more  than  four 
feet  thick,  and  all  other  parts  of  corresponding  strength,  is  now  lying  an 
entire  heap  of  ruins,  burst  asunder  in  all  parts,  and  aground  at  the  spot 
where  she  was  moored.  Although  she  was  but  two  hundred  yards  from  the 
Navy  Yard,  and  many  vessels  near  her,  not  one  of  them  received  the  least 
damage;  nor  was  the  bridge,  which  led  from  the  shore  to  the  Fulton,  at  all 
injured.  The  sentinel  upon  the  bridge  received  no  wound  whatever,  and 
continued  to  perform  his  duty  after  the  accident,  as  unconcerned  as  though 
nothiDg  had  happened.  The  sentinel  on  board  the  ship  was  less  fortunate, 
and  escaped  with  merely  (a  light  accident  on  such  occasions)  a  broken  leg. 
There  were  attached  to  the  Fulton,  by  the  roll  of  the  ship,  143  persons;  and 
at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  there  were  supposed  to  have  been  on  board  the 
vessel  about  sixty  persons. 

It  happened  fortunately  that  sixty-two  men,  formerly  attached  to  the  fri- 
gate, were  drafted  on  Tuesday,  and  had  proceeded  to  Norfolk  to  form  part 

'The  Fulton  was  launched,  October  29th,  1814. — II.  B.  PicrrcponVs  Journal. 


232  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

of  the  crew  of  the  frigate  Constellation,  then  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  a 
foreign  station.  The  band,  seven  in  number,  were  on  shore.  This  dreadful 
accident  was  occasioned  by  the  gunner's  going  into  the  magazine  to  procure 
powder  to  fire  the  evening  gun.  He  was  charged  by  one  of  the  officers  pre- 
viously to  his  going  below,  to  be  careful;  and  soon  after  the  explosion  took 
place.  We  understand  that  he  was  a  man  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of 
age,  and  had  just  been  appointed  to  that  office ;  the  old  gunner  having  been 
discharged  the  day  before.  He  was  desired  by  Lieutenant  Breckenridge  to 
be  careful  with  the  light,  and  to  place  it  in  the  location  invariably  provided 
for  it,  on  such  occasions,  viz:  behind  a  reflecting  glass  in  the  partition, 
through  which  the  rays  of  light  are  thrown.  It  is  supposed  he  had  been 
careless  in  that  particular,  and  that  having  carried  the  candle  into  the 
magazine,  some  of  its  sparks  were  communicated  to  the  powder;  but  as  he 
is  among  the  dead,  nothing  certain  on  this  point  can  ever  be  known.  Lieu- 
tenant Mull  states,  that  the  necessary  precautions  had  been  taken  for  open- 
ing the  magazine,  and  a  sentinel  placed  at  the  hatch  before  he  left  the  deck, 
and  that  after  being  in  the  ward  room  some  twenty  minutes,  the  explosion 
took  place.  At  the  time  of  the  explosion,  the  officers  were  dining  in  the 
ward  room.  The  lady  of  Lieutenant  Breckinridge,  and  the  son  of  Lieu- 
tenant Piatt,  a  lad  about  nine  years  old,  were  guests,  and  one  account  says 
both  were  slightly  wounded.  Another  account  says,  Lieutenant  Mull,  who 
was  sitting  next  to  the  son  of  Lieutenant  Piatt,  with  great  presence  of  mind, 
caught  hold  of  him,  and  placed  him  in  one  of  the  port  holes,  by  which  means 
he  escaped  uninjured.  Lieutenant  Piatt  had  returned  only  on  yesterday 
morning,  having  been  absent  one  month  on  leave.  Commodore  Chauncey, 
with  the  commander  of  the  frigate,  Captain  Newton,  left  her  only  a  few 
minutes  before  the  explosion,  the  former  having  been  on  board  on  a  visit  of 
inspection.  The  escape  of  Midshipman  Eckford  seems  to  have  been  almost 
miraculous.  When  Commodore  Chauncey  (who  was  one  of  the  first  to  reach 
the  vessel)  got  on  board,  the  first  object  he  saw  was  young  Eckford  hanging 
by  one  of  his  legs  between  the  gun  deck,  whither  he  had  been  forced  by  the 
explosion.  A  jack-screw  was  immediately  procured,  by  means  of  which  the 
deck  was  raised  and  he  was  extricated  from  his  perilous  situation. 

The  room  in  which  the  officers  were  dining,  was  situated  about  midships. 
The  whole  company  at  the  table  were  forced,  by  the  concussion,  against  the 
transom  with  such  violence  as  to  break  their  limbs,  and  otherwise  cut  and 
bruise  them  in  a  shocking  manner. 

The  magazine  was  situated  in  the  bow  of  the  vessel.  This  part  of  the 
ship,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  is  completely  demolished.  Indeed,  the  ship 
remains  as  complete  a  wreck  as  was  ever  beheld.     The  timbers  throughout 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  N.  288 

appear  to  have  been  perfectly  rotten.  Many  of  the  guns  were  thrown  over- 
board, and  some  of  them  (of  large  dimensions)  hung  as  it  were  by  a  hair. 

The  bodies  of  the  dead  and  wounded  were  brought  on  shore  as  soon  as 
circumstances  would  permit.  The  former,  after  being  recognized,  were  put 
in  coffins.  The  latter  were  carried  to  the  hospital  of  the  Navy  Sard,  and 
ewrv  attention  paid  to  them.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  shockingly 
mangled;  their  features  distorted,  and  so  much  blackened,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult  to  recognize  them. 

Commodore  Chauncey  and  the  officers  of  the  station  were  on  board  the 
wreck,  after  the  explosion,  giving  directions  to  remove  the  scattered  timber, 
in  order  that  a  search  might  take  place  for  such  bodies  as  might  be  buried 
in  the  ruins.  The  tide  being  at  the  ebb,  immense  quantities  of  the  frag- 
ments of  the  wreck  floated  down  in  front  of  the  city,  and  hundreds  of  small 
boats  were  seen  busily  engaged  in  securing  them. 

What  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance,  although  several  of  the  persons 
at  dinner  in  the  ward  room,  escaped  with  their  lives,  and  some  of  them  un- 
injured, not  a  vestige  of  the  table,  chairs,  or  any  of  the  furniture  in  the 
room  remains.     Everything  was  blown  to  atoms. 

The  Fulton  was  built  with  two  keels,  or  rather  was  in  fact  two  boats, 
joined  together  by  the  upper  boats.  The  sides  were  of  immense  thickness, 
and  the  whole  frame,  was,  when  built,  probably  the  strongest  of  the  kind 
ever  constructed.  But  the  timbers  had  now  become  very  rotten,  and  the 
whole  hulk  was,  as  it  were,  kept  together  by  its  own  weight.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  rotten  state  of  the  vessel,  making  her  timbers  give  away  easily, 
rendered  the  destruction  greater  than  if  she  had  been  new  and  sound. 

Midshipman  Eckford  was  standing  in  the  starboard  gangway,  and  was 
straugely  tumbled  to  the  inside,  instead  of  being  blown  out  upon  the  plat- 
form. He  was  then  caught  under  one  of  the  beams,  where  he  hung  fast  by 
one  leg.  While  he  hung  in  this  painful  condition,  not  a  groan,  nor  a  com- 
plaint, nor  a  word  of  supplication  escaped  him.  His  cheek  was  unblanched, 
and  his  features  composed,  while  he  held  on  to  the  beam  with  his  arms  to  keep 
his  head  up.  Attempts  were  made  to  raise  the  beam,  but  there  was  such  a 
mass  of  materials  above,  that  no  muscular  force  could  move  it.  In  this 
emergency,  Commodore  Chauncey,  with  great  promptness,  ordered  the  jack- 
screw  to  be  brought  from  the  shore.  This  took  time,  and  it  was  not  then 
the  work  of  a  moment  to  apply  it,  and  briug  it  into  action.  An  hour  went  by, 
ere  the  youth  was  extricated;  and  yet,  not  a  single  murmur  of  impatience 
was  heard  from  his  lips.  His  only  words  were  in  direction  or  encouragement 
to  those  who  were  aiding  him  — exclaiming  from  time  to  time,  ';  Hurrah,  my 
hearties!"     "There  it  moves!"     His  only  reproof  was  to  the  sailor,  who, 

30 


234  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

when  the  beam  was  raised,  attempted,  rather  rudely,  to  withdraw  the  frac- 
tured limb.  The  sailor  supported  him  while  he  performed  the  office  himself. 
The  whole  number  of  killed  were  thirty-three,  including  Lieutenant 
Breckenridge  and  the  three  women.  Twenty-nine  were  reported  as  wounded, 
but  there  were  many  more,  who  were  slightly  injured.  Nearly  every  person 
on  board  received  at  least  a  scratch.  The  greatest  part  of  the  mischief  was 
done  by  the  force  of  the  fragments  and  splinters.  These  were  driven  into 
every  part  of  the  ship.  Captain  Newton,  who  commanded  the  ship,  em- 
ployed all  the  force  he  could  spare,  to  clear  the  wreck,  and  find  the  bodies  of 
the  unfortunate  sufferers.  Twenty-four  were  taken  out  of  the  ruins  at  the 
time,  but  some  of  the  others  were  not  found  till  a  considerable  time  after. 
One  was  found  horribly  mutilated,  and  driven  on  shore,  on  Staten  Island. 
Another  got  fastened  to  a  beam,  and  was  picked  up.  Two  were  picked  out 
of  the  water  near  the  wreck. 


June.  A  temperance  society  was  organized  in  Brooklyn ;  A. 
Van  Sinderin,  president,  A.  Mercein,  vice-president,  F.  T.  Peet, 
secretary. 

October.  A  committee  was  appointed,  and  the  sum  of  $500 
appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  legal  investigation  into 
the  water  rights  of  the  town.  On  the  24th,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  Collegiate  Institute  for  Young  Ladies  (see  ante,  page  227),  was 
laid.  The  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  was  founded,  although 
not  chartered  until  1834. 

1830.  The  events  of  this  year  were  rather  unimportant.  The 
county  supervisors  purchased  a  poor  house  farm  at  Flathush ;  and 
the  support  of  paupers  cost  the  town  $7,223,13.  The  taxes  at 
this  time  in  Brooklyn  amounted  to  sixty  cents  on  every  hundred 
dollars  of  the  valuation  of  real  and  personal  estate.  Village 
expenses  were  estimated  at  $10,000,  and  the  population  of  the 
town  as  $15,292. 

In  February  a  public  meeting  was  called,  at  which  measures 
were  taken  to  establish  a  dispensary.1  November  10th,  the  Brooklyn 
Colonization  Society  organized  and  appointed  officers;  and  during 
the  month  of  December,  meetings  were  held  in  the  several  dis- 
tricts to  amend  the  village  charter. 

1  This  institution  published  its  first  annual  report  March,  1831. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN. 

One  of  Mr.  Spooner's  editorials  in  the  Star,  in  April  of 
year.  discusses  the  architectural  features  of  Brooklyn,  in  the 
tewing  vein  of  quiet  humor:  "  Beauty  in  architecture,  solidity  in 
structure. taste  and  neatness  in  public  grounds,  have  been  entirely 
warded.  There  are  a  few  ornamented  fronts,  but  scarcely  one 
well  designed  and  proportioned  edifice  within  the  limits  of  the 
town.  The  houses  generally  are  run  up  with  a  most  frugal 
economy  of  brick  and  mortar,  or  scantling  and  planks,  as  the  case 
may  be.  One  may  look  in  vain  for  a  public  square,  a  well  shaded 
avenue,  or  even  a  sufficient  cemetery.  The  whole  object  see; 
have  been  to  cover  every  lot  of  eighteen  by  twenty-two  with  a 
house,  to  project  and  opeuunneeded  as  well  as  unheard  of  streets, 
and  to  tumble  tbe  hills  into  the  valleys.  *  *  *  *  Gran 
is  more  applicable  to  public  edifices,  but  Diogenes  in  his  tub  could 
not  have  accused  the  Apprentices'  Library  of  excess  in  this  respect, 
whatever  his  opinion  might  have  been  of  the  Presbyterian  or 
Episcopal  churches,  or  the  Female  Institute.  Spires,  too,  are  in 
most  places  considered  an  appropriate  and  beautiful  decoration  of 
churches,  but  we  studiously  pursue  a  system  of  docking,  which  may 
be  in  good  taste  when  applied  to  the  tails  of  horses,  but  is  hardly 
so  when  applied  to  the  steeples  of  churches.  We  have  not  a  single 
puhlic  square,  and  the  only  walk  that  our  townsmen  can  enjoy,  is 
the  crumbling  margin  of  the  Heights,  left  open  by  the  liberality 
of  some,  and  the  necessity  of  removing  fences  in  others,  of  the 
owners  of  adjoining  lots.  Even  this  promenade  is  totally  neglected 
by  the  hand  of  improvement :  no  path  is  laid  out,  no  tree  planted, 
and  no  terrace  regulated,  either  for  beauty  or  safety."' 

The  Hamilton  Literary  Association  was  this  year  f<  >unded  ;  also,  the 
Brooklyn  City  Tract  s        /,  auxiliary  to  the  American  Tract  Society. 

1831.  An  application  was  made  for  a  rail  road  between  Brook- 
lyn and  Jamaica,  and  an  attempt  was  also  made  to  establish  a 
whaling  company  in  Brooklyn.  The  season  was  extremely 
severe.  On  the  15th,  a  snow  storm  occurred  here,  which  lasted 
thirty-six  hours  and  was  followed  by  intensely  cold  weather, 
without  a  parallel  since  the  year  1761.1     About  this  time,  Samuel 

lFurman'i  M  <     Kripts,  vn,  919. 


236  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

E.  Clements  was  appointed  post-master  in  place  of  Erastus  Worth- 
ington,  who  deceased  January  12th.  Mr.  Clements,  however, 
resigned  in  December,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Joseph  Moser. 

May.  The  village  appropriations  amounted  fully  to  $10,000, 
the  extent  allowed  by  law.  It  was  also  calculated  about  this  time 
that  the  village  could  be  lighted  with  public  lamps  at  an  expense 
of  $1.00  per  lot  annually. 

December.  Meetings  were  held  by  the  inhabitants,  and  a  com- 
mittee reported  (on  the  14th)  in  favor  of  uniting  the  town  and 
village  of  Brooklyn  under  a  city  government. 

The  number  of  houses  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn  licensed  as 
taverns,  this  year,  was  128,  the  number  actually  required  being 
only  22.  The  number  of  male  inhabitants  above  the  age  of  18, 
residing  in  the  village,  was  near  40,000 ;  which,  supposing  each 
male  above  18  to  visit  these  places  for  drink,  gave  nearly  32 
customers  to  each  tavern.  In  addition  to  these  taverns,  there 
were  many  grocers  licensed  to  sell  liquor,  by  the  gallon,  and  not 
to  be  drunk  on  the  premises.1 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the  Assumption  was  organized. 

1832.  February  1st.  The  Star  of  this  date  contains  a  letter 
from  a  Mr.  G.  B.  White  of  100  Fulton  street,  to  Mayor  Sprague, 
on  the  subject  of  providing  water  works  for  Brooklyn.  He  pro- 
poses the  formation  of  a  company,  to  be  called  the  Brooklyn 
Water  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000  (in  1,000  shares  of 
$25  each),  for  which  sum  Mr.  White  agrees  to  unite  the  requisite 
number  of  springs  on  the  East  river  shore,  and  by  tide  power  to 
raise  it  to  a  sufficient  height  above  the  highest  point  on  Clover 
hill,  at  the  end  of  Cranberry  street,  and  to  construct  a  reservoir 
of  the  capacity  of  1,000,000  gallons. 

February.  A  contract  was  made  for  cleaning  the  streets  for 
one  year,  for  $400. 

April.  The  Brooklyn  and  Jamaica  Rail  Road  Company  was  in- 
corporated on  the  25th  of  this  month,  but  the  road  was  not  com- 
pleted and  opened  until  April  18th,  1836,  on  which  day  ground 
was  broken  for  its  continuance  through  the  island,  by  the  Long 

1  Furman's  Manuscripts,  iv,  308. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  237 

Island  Rail  Road  Company,  which  had  been  Incorporated  April 
24,  1834.  It  was  continued  to  Ilicksville,  and  ears  put  thereon 
in  August,  1837;  to  Suffolk  station  in  1841,  and  on  the  25th  of 
July,  1844,  the  first  train  of  cars  passed  from  Brooklyn  to  Green- 
port,  ninety-five  miles,  which  event  was  duly  and  appropriately 
celebrated. 

Pierrepont  street  was  ceded  to  the  village. 

June  20th.  The  dreaded  cholera  made  its  appearance  in  New 
York,  and  a  medical  board  was  established  for  the  village  of 
Brooklyn.  Up  to  July  25th,  when  it  ceased,  there  had  been 
ninety  cases,  of  which  thirty-five  died.  These  cases  occurred  in 
Tillary,  Jackson,  Hicks,  Willow,  Fulton,  Marshall,  Gold,  Front, 
Furman,  Main,  High  streets,  and  Red  Hook. 

On  the  Saturday  evening  previous  to  the  20th,  Schenck  and 
Birdsall's  Distillery,  at  the  foot  of  Joralemon  street,  was  destroyed 
by  fire. 

Furman's  Manuscripts  also  preserve  the  following  temperance 
statistics : 

Number  of  taverns  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  in  1832,  com- 
pared with  the  population  of  the  last  census  preceding : 


Village  Districts. 

Licensed. 

Not  Licensed. 

Total. 

Population 

First       - 

7 

8 

15 

1,452 

Second 

48 

31 

79 

2,801 

Third 

-       10 

3 

13 

2,191 

Fourth  - 

16 

15 

31 

3,557 

Fifth 

-       29 

11 

40 

2,301 

110  68  178  12,302 

The  number  of  families  estimated  at  1 ,780,  being  a  tavern  to 
every  ten  families;  and  in  the  2d  district,  a  tavern  to  every  35 
persons.  In  1833,  a  determined  effort  was  made  by  the  trustees 
to  reduce  the  number  of  licenses;  and  the  movement,  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  which  it  met,  so  far  succeeded  that  in  1835,  with  a 
population  of  nearly  30,000,  there  were  only  fifty  taverns  in  the 
whole  city.1 

1  Furman 's  Manuticripts,  iv,  308. 


238  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In  October,  the  Brooklyn  Bank  commenced  operations.  It  was 
the  second  established  in  the  town,  and  was  incorporated  February 
21st,  preceding,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  which  was  reduced  in 
1840  to  $150,000.     Samuel  A.  Willoughly  was  its  first  president. 

1833.  January.  The  principal  measures  at  this  time  before  the 
public,  were,  the  location  of  the  County  Court  House,  the  esta- 
blishment of  the  South  Ferry,  and  the  widening  of  Fulton,  near 
Front  street.  The  locating  of  the  Court  House  in  Brooklyn,  long 
discussed  and  often  attempted,  had  at  length  been  rendered  pro- 
bable, owing  to  the  fact  that  the  old  one  at  Flatbush  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire  in  December  previous.  In  view  of  the  rapid 
increase  of  property  and  population  which  had  taken  place  in 
Brooklyn,  it  seemed  most  appropriate  that  the  new  edifice  should 
be  erected  here.  This  town  then  had  2,266  electors,  whereas  all 
the  rest  of  the  county  had  only  710;  553  jurors  and  the  other 
towns  270;  and  taxable  property  assessed  at  $7,829,  684,  while 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  county  was  only  $1,600,594.  The  proposi- 
tion, however,  to  locate  the  court  here,  and  to  increase  the 
representation  of  the  village  in  the  board  of  supervisors,  met  with 
strenuous  opposition  from  the  other  towns  of  the  county.  An  act 
was  finally  passed,  in  the  month  of  April  authorizing  its  location 
in  Brooklyn,  and  appropriating  Messrs.  L.  Yan  Nostrand,  Joseph 
Moser,  and  Peter  Conover,  as  commissioners  to  fix  upon  a  site. 

February.  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  it  was  resolved  to 
establish  a  soup  house  for  the  poor.  A  crown  glass  company  was 
established  in  the  village,  and  a  second  attempt  was  made  to  esta- 
blish a  whaling  company  here. 

The  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum  Society  was  this  year  instituted, 
but  not  incorporated  until  1835. 

April.  The  plottings  and  plannings  for  a  city  incorporation, 
which  had  so  long  interested  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  culminated 
at  length  in  a  determined  effort  to  secure  the  coveted  boon  from 
the  legislature  of  the  state.  A  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
City  of  Brooklyn,  and  the  erection  of  the  Town  of  Gowanus,  in 
Kings  county,  was  introduced  and  passed  the  assembly  (April  12), 
but  owing  to  the  strenuous  opposition  made  by  the  city  of  New 
York,  was  lost  in  the  senate  (April  27).     The  Brooklynites,  how- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKM  N  009 

Bver,  received  (May  15th),  a  sort  of  placebo  for  their  disappointment, 
in  the  shape  of  an  amended  village  charter,  obtained  through 
the  efforts  of  Judge  John  Greenwood,  which  embraced  several 
sections  of  the  proposed  city  charter.1  So  desirous,  however, 
were  a  portion  of  the  citizens,  of  being  under  a  city  government, 
that  they  proposed  the  annexation  of  Brooklyn  to  the  city  au- 
thority of  New  York. 

June.  The  village  was  honored  by  a  visit  from  the  president, 
vice-president  and  many  other  distinguished  United  States 
officials. 

October.  On  the  10th,  the  Brooklyn  Lyceum  was  organized, 
for  the  promotion  of  intellectual  and  moral  improvement,  and 
Hon.  P.  W.  Radcliffe  was  chosen  president. 

During  this  fall,  speculation  in  lands  and  lots  increased  so 
rapidly  as  almost  to  amount,  in  some  cases,  to  a  mania.  At  an 
auction  sale  of  Mount  Prospect  lots,  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  ferry,  the  sales  were  from  §60  to  §200,  mostly  above  $100  per 
lot.  The  property  lately  occupied  by  Parmentier's  splendid  gar- 
den, at  the  junction  of  the  Jamaica  and  Flatbush  roads,  purchased 
for  857,000,  was  sold  in  lots  at  auction,  for  between  60  and  §70,- 
000 ;  while  ten  acres  of  ground  at  Red  Hook,  owned  by  the  heirs 
of  Rynier  Suydam,  sold  for  §47,000 !  The  farm  of  R.  Y.  Beek- 
man,  at  Gowanus,  comprising  26  acres,  18  perches,  was  purchased 
at  auction  by  Charles  Hoyt,  for  §25,000. 

About  the  same  time  also,  the  old  John  Spader  farm  (vol.  i,  84), 
was  purchased  by  Pine  and  Yan  Antwerp,  auctioneers  in  Xew 
York,  but  residing  on  Flatbush  Hill.  They  soon  laid  out  the 
beautiful  avenue  now  known  as  Clinton  avenue,  from  the  river  to 
the  Jamaica  road,  lengthwise  through  the  farm.  The  land  on 
either  side  was  sold  in  sections  of  half  an  acre  each,  or  lots  of 
eighty  by  one  hundred  feet.  The  first  settlers  were  Messrs. 
Baxter,  Yan  Dyke,  Halsey,  Hunter  and  others ;  St.  Luke's  (then 
Trinity)  church  was  erected  in  1835,  and  soon  the  avenue  began 
to  assume  the  beautiful  appearance  which  now  renders  it  one  of 
the  chief  ornaments  of  our  lovely  city. 

1  Sections  41  -  49,  52  -  62,  65. 


240  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Meanwhile  (1830-1835),  another  settlement  was  springing  into 
existence  along  the  shores  of  the  Wallabout  bay.  The  beginning 
of  the  Wallabout  village  as  it  was  then  called,  has  been  kindly 
sketched  for  us  in  the  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Greenleaf,  the  late  excellent  and  well  known  pastor  of  the  Walla- 
bout Presbyterian  church,  in  a  letter  dated  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
April  28th,  1860  : 

You  requested  of  me  to  put  on  paper  some  of  my  recollections  of  East 
Brooklyn,  as  it  was  when  I  removed  here  in  the  month  of  October,  1842. 
I  gladly  comply  with  your  request. 

The  Wallabout  village,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  but  now  known  as  East 
Brooklyn,  dates  not  very  far  from  the  year  1830.  The  territory  assigned  to 
it  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Flushing  avenue,  on  the  south  by  the  old 
Jamaica  turnpike,  west  by  Clinton  avenue,  and  east  by  Division  avenue, 
which  separated  it  from  the  town  of  Bushwick.  At  the  above  date  the  land 
within  these  limits  lay  in  farms,  being  traversed  on  what  is  now  Flushing 
avenue  by  the  Newtown  turnpike,  which  entered  into  Brooklyn  proper,  through 
a  toll-gate  and  over  a  bridge,  built  on  the  outlet  of  the  mill-pond,  which  then 
covered  the  Park,  lying  west  of  the  Navy  Yard.  An  old  road  was  also 
traveled  from  what  was  called  Cripplebush,  passing  the  old  stone  house 
of  Mr.  J.  J.  Bappalye,  and  thence  through  Nostrand  avenue  and  Bedford 
avenue  to  Jamaica  turnpike.  From  about  the  year  1832,  streets  were  laid 
out  from  time  to  time,  not  all  at  once,  and  in  1835  Myrtle  avenue  was 
graded  and  paved  from  the  City  Hall  to  Nostrand  avenue,  which  afforded  a 
new  facility  of  entrance  from  the  Wallabout  into  the  older  part  of  the  city. 
Not  long  after,  a  section  of  Flushing  avenue  was  paved,  extending  from  the 
Navy  Yard  Hospital  gate  to  Bedford  avenue,  and  also  Bedford  avenue,  Skill- 
man  street,  Franklin  and  Kent  avenues  from  Flushing  to  Myrtle  avenue,  and 
Classon  avenue  from  Flushing  to  Willoughly  avenue.  On  the  south  side  of 
Myrtle  avenue  there  were  no  pavements,  with  the  exception  of  one  block  as 
above  stated,  and  none  of  the  streets  were  cut  through,  except  Bedford  and 
Classon  avenues,  which  had  been  ploughed  up  and  levelled  like  a  country 
road.  Such  was  the  state  of  the  streets  when  I  removed  my  family  here  on 
October  8th,  1842,  having  commenced  preaching  here  two  weeks  earlier. 

The  beginning  of  the  village,  so  far  as  the  houses  are  concerned,  was  in 
the  year  1830,  when  the  ropewalk  was  built  on  the  open  space  between 
Classon  avenue  and   Graham  street.1     At  or  near  the   same  time  a  large 

1  Tucker  &  Cooper's  ropewalk  was  burned  Dec.  12,  1845  ;  insured  value  $20,000. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  04 ] 

stone  building  was  erected  at  the  northern  end  of  the  ropewalk.  which  was 
finished  off  in  separate  tenements  to  be  occupied  as  dwellings  by  the  opera- 
tives in  t he  ropewalks.  That  building  is  now  used  as  a  store  house  for 
hemp,  cordage,  etc.  A  few  dwellings  were  soon  scattered  along  on  Flush- 
inn  avenue,  and  on  the  other  avenues  north  of  Myrtle  ;  and  in  the  year  1836, 
the  public  school  house  was  built  on  Classon,  near  Flushing  avenue.  At 
this  time  (1842)  the  greater  part  of  the  population  resided  north  of  Myrtle 
avenue,  for  there  was  but  one  house  on  the  south  line  of  that  street  from 
Division  avenue  to  Fort  Greene,  and  that  was  the  large  house  now  standing 
on  the  corner  of  Myrtle  and  Classon  avenues,  the  corner  of  which  was  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Evans  as  a  drug  store,  and  is  now  a  meat  shop.  At  that  time 
the  whole  space  from  Division  avenue  to  Fort  Greene,  and  from  Myrtle 
avenue  to  Jamaica  turnpike,  being  a  tract  of  ground  about  two  miles  in 
length  from  east  to  west,  and  one  mile  in  breadth  from  north  to  south,  con- 
tained only  thirty  houses.  Adding  to  this  space  the  ground  lying  north  of 
Myrtle  avenue,  and  the  whole  population  was  small  compared  with  that 
found  at  this  day  on  the  same  ground.  In  the  autumn  of  1842,  soon  after 
I  commenced  preaching  here,  I  took  a  census  of  the  people,  as  accurately  as 
it  was  practicable  to  make  it,  and  the  following  is  the  result.  Whole  num- 
ber of  families  344,  who  were  divided  among  the  several  religious  denomina- 
tions, as  follows:  Presbyterians.  81;  Baptists,  11;  Reformed  Dutch,  20; 
Roman  Catholics,  72 ;  Methodists,  44 ;  Episcopalians,  21 ;  leaving  95  fami- 
lies unclassed,  whose  denomination  was  not  ascertained.  These  families 
were  all  residing  in  what  is  now  called  the  Seventh  ward  of  Brooklyn.  The 
progress  of  the  population  in  the  ward  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that,  in  1842, 
the  total  amount  of  population,  as  ascertained  by  my  census,  was  1,679,  and 
the  population  of  the  ward  as  reported  in  the  census  of  1850  was  6,371. 

The  consideration  of  another  fact  will  exhibit  the  great  increase  of  popu- 
lation here  in  the  last  18  years.  When  the  Wallabout  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized,  Dec.  20,  1842,  there  were  3  others  in  operation  between  Fort 
Greene  on  the  west,  and  Division  avenue  on  the  east,  viz :  St.  Luke's 
[Episcopal]  church,  on  Clinton  avenue,  near  the  Long  Island  rail  road;  St. 
Mary's  [Catholic]  church  on  Classon  avenue,  near  Myrtle,  and  the  Methodist 
church  on  Franklin  avenue,  near  Park  avenue,  and  these  were  all  feeble,  and 
no  one  of  them  could  stand  alone.  On  the  same  ground,  adding  a  small 
portion  of  the  Ninth  ward  adjoining,  there  are  now  28  organized  churches,  at 
least  half  of  them  having  large  and  self-supporting  congregations. 

I  have  thus,  sir,  given  you  about  all  that  I  can  recollect  of  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  settlement  at  East  Brooklyn,  so  far  as  I  have  judged  it 
necessary  for  your  purpose.     *     *     * 

31 


242  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1834.  January.  The  Brooklyn  people,  undaunted  by  previous 
defeats,  and  confident  in  their  own  resources,  and  the  justice  of 
their  claims,  again  renewed  their  application  to  the  legislature  for 
a  city  charter.  The  city  of  New  York,  with  the  spirit  of  "  the 
dog  in  the  manger,"  still  threw  the  whole  weight  of  her  wealth 
and  influence  against  the  movement.  Her  objections,  as  stated 
in  the  report  of  a  special  committee  of  the  common  council,  on 
the  30th,  were  substantially  as  follows :  That  the  limits  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  ought  to  embrace  the  whole  of  the  counties 
of  Kings  and  Richmond.  That  all  commercial  cities  are  natural 
rivals  and  competitors,  and  that  contentions,  inconvenience  and 
other  calamities  grow  out  of  such  rivalries.  That  the  period  was 
not  far  distant  when  a  population  of  2,000,000  would  be  comprised 
within  the  three  counties  of  New  York,  Kings  and  Richmond. 
That  the  limits  of  the  city  of  New  York  already  extended  to  low 
water  mark,  on  all  the  shores  of  Brooklyn,  east  of  Red  Hook. 
That  an  act  of  legislature,  passed  in  1821,  relative  to  the  village 
of  Brooklyn,  was  virtually  an  encroachment  on  the  rights  of  New 
York,  inasmuch  as  it  provided  for  the  election  of  a  harbor  master, 
whose  duty  in  Brooklyn  would  be  within  the  city  limits  of  New 
York ;  and  further,  that  the  sheriff  and  civil  officers  of  Brooklyn 
were  allowed  to  execute  processes  on  board  of  vessels  attached  to 
the  wharves  of  Brooklyn,  etc.,  etc. 

The  real  key,  however,  to  the  opposition  made  by  New  York, 
was  undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  the  fears  of  her  real  estate  specu- 
lators, and  her  municipal  authorities.  The  former,  who  held 
large  quantities  of  land  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  city, 
foresaw  that  the  incorporation  of  Brooklyn  as  a  city,  would 
give  a  new  impetus  to  her  growth  and  population;  and  that  Brook- 
lyn lots  would  soon  become  formidable  rivals  to  their  own,  in  the 
market.  The  latter  saw,  in  the  energy  of  their  youthful  and 
aspiring  neighbor,  a  power,  which  when  grown  to  maturer  strength, 
might  wrest  from  New  York  her  long-contested,  and  profitable 
water  and  ferry  rights.  So  capital,  speculation  and  monopoly, 
joined  hands  in  a  most  formidable  league  against  the  aspirations 
and  endeavors  of  Brooklyn.  Despite  their  exertions,  however, 
Brooklyn  triumphed,  and  by  an  act  passed  on  the  8th  of  April, 


BlBTOBt  OF  BROOKLYN.  248 

was  l'ully  invested  with  the  name  and  privileges  of  a  city.1  The 
joyful  event  was  duly  celebrated  on  the  25th,  by  a  civic  procession, 
and  public  exercises  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  where  an 
oration  was  delivered  by  William  Rockwell,  Esq.  The  first  elec- 
tion under  the  new  charter  was  held  on  the  5th  of  May,  and 
in  several  of  the  wards,  a  union  ticket  was  elected.  The  follow- 
ing gentlemen  composed  the  First  Board  of  Aldermen  :  First 
Ward,  Gabriel  Furman,  Conklin  Brush;  Second  Ward,  George  D. 
Cunningham,  John  M.  Hicks;  Third  Ward,  James  Walters, 
Joseph  Moser ;  Fourth  Ward,  Jonathan  Trotter,  Adrian  Hege- 
rnan ;  Fifth  Ward,  William  M.  Udall,  Benjamin  R.  Prince  ; 
Sixth  Ward,  Samuel  Smith,  William  Powers;  Seventh,  Ward, 
Clarence  D.  Sackett,  Stephen  Haynes;  Eighth  Ward,  Theodorus 
Polhemus,  John  S.Bergen;  Ninth  Ward,  Robert  Wilson,  Moses 
Smith. 

This  board  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month  elected  George  Hall, 
as  the  first  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

George  Hall  was  born  in  New  York,  on  the  21st  of  September,  1705. 
In  1796.  his  father  purchased  the  farm  now  known  as  the  Valley  Grove 
farm,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Flatbush,  where  he  lived  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  removed  to  Brooklyn,  which  was  then  but  an  inconsiderable  village. 
George  received  a  good  English  education  at  Erasmus  Hall,  an  old  and 
excellent  institution  of  learning  at  Flatbush  ;  and,  after  he  left  school,  took 
up  his  father's  trade  of  a  painter  and  glazier.  In  early  life  he  was  noted 
for  his  convivial  habits,  and  old  Brooklynites  still  remember  with  amuse- 
ment his  youthful  pranks  and  the  skill  with  which  he  used  to  sing  the 
Crui>keen  Lawn.  Yet.  even  in  those  days  of  his  budding  mauhood,  he 
displayed  that  frankness  of  disposition,  energy  of  purpose,  persevering  indus- 
try and  active  spirit  of  benevolence  which  soon  distinguished  him  among  his 

lrThe  act  went  into  effect  on  the  10th.  At  the  time  of  this  incorporation,  the 
viU<vj<  had  a  village  market  debt  of  about  $22,000,  and  was  involved  in  thePatchen 
law  suit,  amounting  to  some  $20,000,  being  a  total  of  $42,000,  which  was  assumed  by 
the  newly  corporated  city.  The  tovm  of  Brooklyn,  on  the  contrary,  owed  nothing, 
and  owned  the  poor  house  establishment,  together  with  nineteen  and  a  half  acres 
of  land,  including  a  part  of  Fort  Greene;  one  half  an  acre  of  meadow,  as  a  landincr- 
place,  adjoining  the  poor  house  property;  also  a  landing  place  at  Atlantic 
ferry  ;  a  lot  at  foot  of  Doughty  street,  on  the  East  river,  on  which  a  store  had  been 
built  without  right,  and  several  other  landing  plat 


244  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

companions  and  neighbors,  and  rendered  him  the  chosen  and  trusted  coun- 
sellor of  all  his  associates,  the  friend  of  the  poor,  and  the  warm  and  effect- 
ive advocate  of  every  measure  calculated  to  benefit  his  fellow  men.  In  his 
business  which  he  commenced  on  his  own  account,  in  1820,  his  talent, 
integrity  and  straightforwardness  won  for  him  a  reputation  and  a  mercantile 
credit,  which  soon  placed  him  on  the  pathway  to  success  j  and  never  was  a 
competency  more  fairly  the  reward  of  labor  and  of  merit. 

As  years  rolled  by  they  brought  changes ;  the  village  grew,  large  acces- 
sions of  population  were  made,  legislation  became  necessary  to  provide  for 
the  welfare  of  the  increasing  numbers,  and  Mr.  Hall,  active,  honest,  and 
public-spirited,  was  chosen  in  the  years  1826  and  1832,  trustee  of  the  Third 
ward  of  the  then  village  of  Brooklyn.  The  duties  of  this  office  he  discharged 
so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  neighbors  and  associates,  that  in  October, 
1833,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  village,  in  a  closely  contested  election 
brought  about  by  his  strenuous  endeavors  to  exclude  hogs  from  the  streets, 
and  to  shut  up  the  shops  of  unlicensed  retailers  of  rum.  Upon  the  incorpora- 
tion of  Brooklyn  as  a  city  in  1834,  he  became  its  first  mayor,  and  most  honestly 
administered  its  affairs.  In  1844,  Mr.  Hall  was  defeated  as  the  temperance 
candidate  for  the  mayoralty;  and  again  in  1845,  as  the  nominee  of  the  Whigs 
for  the  same  office.  On  both  of  these  occasions  hundreds  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  wealthy  citizens  came  out  warmly  in  his  behalf,  and  the  vote  which 
was  polled  showed,  at  least,  that  he  was  personally  regarded  by  the  people 
of  Brooklyn  as  most  worthy  of  an  office  which  could  add  no  honors,  but 
only  impose  labors  on  such  a  man.  In  1854,  Mr.  Hall  was  nominated  for 
the  mayoralty  by  the  Know-nothing  party,  and  was  elected,  though  his 
opponents  endeavored  to  defeat  him  by  raising  a  question  as  to  the  place  of 
his  birth,  asserting  that  he  was  born  in  County  Wexford,  Ireland.  But  Mr. 
Hall  proved  that,  though  his  parents  were  Irish,  he  was  born  in  this  coun- 
try. He  thus  became  the  first  mayor  of  the  incorporated  cities  of  Brook- 
lyn and  Williamsburg.  During  his  term  of  office  the  cholera  raged  with 
considerable  virulence  in  the  city.  The  people  became  very  much  panic- 
stricken,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  .one  with  sufficient  courage  to  face  the 
epidemic  until  Mr.  Hall  literally  took  it  in  hand.  He  went  right  into  it; 
superintended  the  removal  of  victims,  cleaned  out  houses,  took  responsibility 
after  responsibility,  and  his  efforts  met  with  deserved  success.  But  he  did 
not  pass  untouched.  The  epidemic  seized  him,  and  then  was  shown  the 
determination  of  the  man.  Going  to  his  home  he  sat  down  before  a  very 
hot  fire,  called  for  one  medicine  after  another,  until  he  had  taken  a  large 
amount  of  various  mixtures,  and  apparently  by  his  determination  not  to 
succumb  to  the  disease,  fought  it  off".     A  report  was  circulated  that  he  was 


I 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  245 

dead,  which   report  brought  him   to   the  front  of  the  City  Ball  that  people 

might  see  he  was  not  dead,  and  did  not  intend  to  die  just  yet.  His  fellow 
citizens  were  bo  gratified  by,  and  so  much  admired,  hi-  courageous  efforts 
that  they  presented  him  as  a  testimonial  the  house  No.  37  Livingston  street, 
in  which  he  died.  The  testimonial  avowedly  took  this  shape  for  the  reason 
that  his  friends  knew  that  he  would  not  keep  money  in  his  possession  while 
there  was  distress  to  be  relieved. 

In  1801,  Mr.  Hall  ran  for  the  office  of  registrar  as  a  Republican  candidate, 
against  what  was  known  as  the  Fort  Greene  Union  ticket.  Though  he 
received  a  very  complimentary  vote  he  was  defeated,  and  never  afterwards 
took  any  part  in  politics.  There  was  scarcely  a  Brooklyn  institution  of  pub- 
lic benefit  in  which  Mr.  Hall  was  not  interested,  either  as  having  helped  to 
found  it,  or  as  having  helped  its  progress  with  ready  hand.  He  was  for  a 
number  of  years,  president  of  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of 
t/i<  Poor  ;  and  for  some  time  president  of  the  Fireman  *  Trust  Insurance 
Company,  a  position  that  secured  him  a  modest  competency,  without  over- 
tasking his  strength. 

He  died,  after  a  brief  illness,  on  the  lGth  of  April,  18G8,  and  his  funeral  on 
the  following  sabbath,  was  such  a  scene  as  Brooklyn  has  seldom,  if  ever 
witnessed.  The  flags  upon  the  City  Hall  were  displayed  at  half-mast,  and 
long  before  the  hour  of  the  services,  the  dwelling  was  crowded  to  excess. 
All  the  neighboring  stoops  were  filled  with  spectators,  and  a  crowd  of  three 
or  four  thousand  collected  in  the  street,  in  front  of  the  house,  and  were 
addressed  by  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  in  one  of  his  characteristic  and 
eloquent  addresses.  At  its  close,  the  coffin,  covered  with  wreaths  and 
flowers,  was  carried  to  its  last  resting  place  in  Greenwood,  escorted  by  the 
temperance  societies  in  full  regalia,  and  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of 
Brooklyn's  oldest  and  most  distinguished  citizeus,  among  whom  were  five 
ex-mayors  and  nearly  all  the  acting  officials  of  the  city. 

As  the  advocate  of  the  temperance  cause,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  speak 
of  George  Hall.  How  many  men  owre  to  him  their  very  lives  snatched,  by 
his  means,  from  the  degradation,  worse  than  death,  of  intoxication.  To 
how  many  families  his  presence,  assistance,  and  counsel  have  been  like  the 
gracious  ministry  of  an  angel.  He  was  the  first  man  in  his  city  in  the 
field  for  temperance.  He  was  the  first  to  sign  in  Brooklyn  the  Old  Tem- 
perance Pledge,  and  the  first  to  sign  the  Washingtonian  Pledge.  Of 
those  engaged  in  the  deadly  liquor  traffic  or  connected  with  it,  he  was  ever 
the  unswerving,  uncompromising  enemy,  as  well  as  of  everything  in  the  social 
and  political  system  that  gives  encouragement  openly  or  slily  to  drunkenness. 
It  was  this  earnest  antagonism,  no  doubt,  which  prevented  to  a  large  degree 


246  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

that  advancement  in  political  life,  which  might  reasonably  have  been  expected 
from  his  peculiar  fitness  for  public  office,  as  well  as  from  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  citizens.  His  services  in  this  cause,  for  a  long 
series  of  years,  were  conspicuous,  and  his  personal  example  was  thoroughly 
consistent. 

Even  in  his  last  sickness,  when  his  medical  attendants  thought  his  failing 
strength  needed  to  be  sustained  by  stimulants,  and  prescribed  brandy  for 
him,  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  he  could  be  got  to  try  it;  and  when 
the  taste  of  that  was  in  his  mouth,  which  he  had  fought  against  all  his  life, 
he  spat  it  out  again,  and  died  as  he  had  lived.  It  was  characteristic  of  him 
that  even  when  dying,  the  old  battle  feeling  was  in  him  yet,  and  having 
fought  this  .mischievous  agent  all  his  life,  he  fought  it  also  in  death,  and 
would  not  be  subject  to  it  even  for  the  hope  of  being  healed  by  it. 

George  Hall  j  ossessed  strong  physical  health,  sound  practical  sense,  and 
true  moral  energy.  He  was  one  who  never  shrank  from  the  performance  of 
any  known  duty.  Said  Mr.  Beecher  at  his  funeral  :  "  He  was  one  of  those 
few  men  who,  let  them  but  once  get  the  scent,  and  he  laid  his  nose  to  it  and 
followed  it  up  to  the  end.  Many  men  did  not  like  this  trait  in  his  charac- 
ter, while  he  was  in  public  life.  When  he  obstructed  some  of  them  in 
wrong  courses  —  when  in  the  pursuit  of  bad  gains  he  stood  in  the  path, 
lion-like  before  them,  and  threatened  the  evil  doer,  many  voices-reviled  him 
and  many  oaths  were  sworn  against  him.  But  it  was  safe  to  say  that  in  the 
brothels  and  grog  shops  of  Brooklyn  to-day,  none  would  speak  a  word 
against  the  memory  of  George  Hall,  now  that  he  was  dead.  They  would 
admit  that  he  but  did  his  duty  —  that  he  acted  the  part  of  a  man,  and  did 
the  right  thing.  He  was  not  merely  a  moral  man.  He  shaped  his  ideas  of 
duty  upon  the  word  of  God.  He  was  not  simply  a  philanthropist  —  he  was 
a  Christian  man,  though  not  ostentatious.  He  did  not  make  a  parade  of  his 
religious  feelings  Since  1850  or  1851  he  had  been  a  communicant  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  those  who  knew  him  best  knew  how  consistent  was 
his  life,  and  that  the  secret  spring  that  moved  him  to  zeal  was  religion.  He 
lived  as  one  who  felt  that  he  would  have  to  give  an  account  before  the  bar 
of  God. 

"  He  was  a  faithful  counsellor,  a  wise  man,  a  disinterested,  unselfish,  unam- 
bitious and  truly  patriotic  citizen,  and  those  who  really  loved  the  welfare  of 
the  community  had  faith  in  him.  He  was  a  man  who  took  straight  paths  of 
action ;  was  fearlessly  in  earnest,  and  had  a  pure  and  exalted  idea  of  the 
good  of  the  public.  But  while  he  was  a  stern  magistrate,  there  was  never 
a  softer  heart  beat  in  woman's  bosom  than  his.  With  a  face  like  granite, 
never  was  there  warmer   blood  or  gentler  sympathies  than   in   him.     He 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  247 

would  rebuke  the  wrong  doer,  and  feared  not  to  face  opposition  in  any  shape  : 
yet,  when  the  presence  of  want  was  made  known  to  him,  he  would  Bwing  a 

basket  on  his  arm,  and  take  food  from  his  own  larder  to  feed  the  suffering 
poor.  He  was  not  content,  as  many  wrere,  to  stand  by,  saying  to  others,  '  be 
ye  good,'  but  he  went  down  among  them  to  converse  with  them,  and  try  to 
elevate  them  out  of  vice  and  evil  doing.  His  was  the  example  of  a  true 
man,  as  well  as  of  a  philanthropist  and  a  Christian. "  Generous  even  to 
extravagance,  it  may  be  questioned  if  he  ever  refused  a  call  in  the  name  of 
charity.  He  was  probably  more  easily  imposed  upon  by  the  preten- 
suffering  and  sorrow  than  any  other  man,  and  his  liberality  was  bounded  by 
only  the  money  at  his  command.  The  poor  always  found  in  him  a  friend, 
and  large  numbers  of  poor  widows  and  families  were  accustomed  to  apply 
to  him  for  assistance.  Yet  his  name  was  very  seldom  seen  on  any 
published  or  printed  subscription  list.  His  likes  and  dislikes  were  very 
strong,  and  he  never  hesitated  to  give  his  opinion  of  a  person  or  subject, 
whatever  it  might  be.  He  seemed  to  be  unconscious  of  fear,  and  his  ene- 
mies, if  he  had  any,  knew  him  as  a  most  determined  man,  while  to  his  friends 
he  was  an  equally  constant  and  reliable  friend. 

In  relating  the  great  event  of  the  year,  we  have  neglected  to 
notice  some  of  considerable  importance  which  occurred  during 
the  earlier  months  of  1834.  In  January,  after  a  period  of  extrava- 
gant speculation  in  city  lots,  greatly  facilitated  by  the  too  free  issue 
of  paper  currency  by  the  banks,  it  was  announced  that  great 
numbers  of  the  laboring  classes  were  discharged  for  want  of  cash ; 
and  so  formidable  did  the  danger  appear,  that  a  meeting  of 
merchants,  mechanics,  manufacturers  and  other  citizens  of 
Brooklyn  was  convened  for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  on 
measures  necessary  to  be  adopted  to  avert  the  pecuniary  distress. 
During  this  month,  also,  omnibuses  and  the  now  almost  forgotten 
cab,  were  introduced  into  use  in  Brooklyn. 

That  the  thoughts  and  aspirations  of  Brooklynites  were  tend- 
ing hopefully  towards  a  future  civic  dignity,  is  manifest  from  a 
proposition  made  to  the  corporation  in  March,  to  furnish  the 
village  with  a  supply  of  water  from  the  springs  at  the  Wallabout. 
A  committee  thereon,  finally  reported  the  plan  as  feasible,  and 
that  the  modest  sum  of  $100,000  would  cover  all  expenses  of 
reservoir,  steam  engine  and  eleven  miles  of  pipe.     They  further 


248  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

expressed  their  opinion  that  the  village  could  be  amply  supplied 
with  the  purest  water  at  an  annual  expense  of  $10,000  for  interest 
and  cost.  The  financial  aspects  of  the  times,  however,  probably 
forbade  any  attempt  at  a  realization  of  the  project,  as  it  seems  to 
have  been  dropped  from  the  public  mind. 

In  July,  having  then  attained  to  the  honor  of  being  a  city,  it  was 
resolved,  at  a  public  city  meeting  of  which  the  mayor  was  chair- 
man, that  $50,000  should  be  raised  to  purchase  ground  for  a  city 
hall  at  the  junction  of  Fulton  and  Joralemon  streets. 

The  South  Ferry  was  proposed,  about  this  time ;  but  met  with 
the  usual  opposition  from  New  York  city.  This  and  the  condition 
of  the  Brooklyn  ferries  generally  kept  the  good  folks  in  a  con- 
siderable sweat,  and  public  meetings,  and  newspaper  articles  seem 
to  have  been  then,  as  now,  their  favorite,  though  ineffectual 
method  of  warfare. 

September.  Permission  to  occupy  Atlantic  street,  was  granted 
by  the  corporation  to  the  Jamaica  rail  road  company,  and  this,  we 
may  add,  proved  a  most  unfortunate  bone  of  contention,  until 
the  change  of  terminus,  in  1861. 

December.  Garret  Nostrand's  farm  of  eighty  acres,  at  Cripple- 
bush,  was  sold  for  $80,000. 

Christ  Church  (Protestant  Episcopal),  and  the  Third  Presbyterian 
Church  were  this  year  organized. 

The  Long  Island  Bail  Road  Company  was  this  year  incorporated. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  249 


CHAPTER  IV, 


THE  CITY  FROM  1834-1855. 


The  charter,  under  which  the  new  city  of  Brooklyn  commenced 
its  existence,  divided  the  municipality  into  nine  wards,  the  first 
five  of  which  corresponded  to  and  were  identical  with  the  five 
districts  of  the  former  village,  and  retained  the  same  limits  and 
numbers  as  said  districts.  The  legislative  power  was  vested  in  a 
mayor  and  a  board  of  aldermen.  This  board,  constituting  and 
denominated  the  common  council,  was  composed  of  two  aldermen, 
elected  annually  from  each  ward,  and  a  provision  was  made 
whereby  no  member  of  the  common  council  could  hold  office  as 
mayor  and  alderman  at  the  same  time.  The  mayor  was  to  see  that 
the  ordinances  of  the  common  council  were  complied  with,  and 
offenders  against  the  same  prosecuted;  and  he  was  to  be  assisted  in 
his  duties  by  an  inspector  or  inspectors  who  should  report  all  such 
breaches  of  law  to  him,  or  to  the  attorney  of  the  board,  as  the 
common  council  might  direct.  He  was  to  have  no  vote  in  the 
common  council,  although  he  possessed  a  qualified  veto  power. 
The  common  council  were  to  have  the  management  and  control 
of  the  finances  and  of  all  property,  real  and  personal  Jbelonging  to 
the  said  corporation;  and,  within  the  said  city,  they  could  make, 
establish,  publish,  alter,  modify,  amend  and  repeal  all  ordinances, 
rules,  regulations  and  by-laws,  usual  and  necessary  for  the  regula- 
tion, protection,  etc.,  etc.,  of  the  various  city  interests,  including 
the  powers  of  a  board  of  health,  of  police  and  of  excise. 

1835.  January.  A  perfect  survey  and  plan  of  the  city  being 
very  desirable,  the  corporation  resolved  to  apply  to  the  legislature 
for  the  appointment  of  commissioners  for  that  purpose ;  and  a 
committee  of  the  corporation  reported  in  favor  of  purchasing  the 
low  grounds  at  the  Wallabout  for  a  city  park, 

32 


250  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

March.  Eight  acres  of  the  Jacob  Bergen  farm  were  sold,  at  the 
handsome  figure  of  $10,000  per  acre. 

In  April,  Brooklyn  obtained  her  contested  act  establishing  a 
south  ferry,  only  four  members  of  assembly  dissenting. 

May  11.  Jonathan  Trotter,  Esq.,  was  elected  by  the  board  of 
aldermen,  as  mayor  of  the  city. 

Hon.  Jonathan  Trotter  was  born  in  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  England, 
in  the  year  1797 ;  he  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1818,  and  began  busi- 
ness in  Roosevelt  street,  New  York  city,  as  a  morocco  dresser.  Subse- 
quently he  established  himself  still  more  extensively  in  Ferry  street.  In 
1825,  he  built  an  extensive  factory  for  the  dressing  of  leather,  in  Stanton 
street,  near  Gold,  now  the  5th  Ward,  Brooklyn;  and  a  few  years  after,  in  1829, 
became  a  resident  here.  His  business  proved  very  successful,  and  he  became 
one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  His  residence 
was  in  Bridge  street,  between  Tillary  and  Chapel.  In  1834,  the  charter  for  a 
city  was  obtained,  and  the  deceased,  then  a  trustee,  was  elected  alderman  of 
the  4th  Ward.  Hon.  George  Hall  was  then  mayor,  and  in  May,  1835,  Mr. 
Trotter  was  chosen  to  this  office,  and  reelected  in  1836.  He  held  the  chief 
municipal  office  until  May,  1837 ;  in  1840  he  moved  to  New  York.  While 
mayor  of  Brooklyn,  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  City  Hall,  as  originally 
planned,  on  the  28th  of  April,  1836.  During  his  term,  also,  Myrtle  avenue 
was  opened,  and  the  extensive  arrangements  for  opening  up  the  outlying 
portions  of  the  city  were  made.  In  1837,  Mr.  Trotter  was  among  those  unfor- 
tunates, who  were  caught  with  outspread  sails,  when  the  great  financial  storm 
burst  upon  the  country,  and  he  went  down  from  wealth  to  a  very  moderate 
competence.  He  returned  to  New  York  and  reestablished  himself  there, 
but  never  again  was  enabled  to  assume  a  prominent  position  in  either  politics 
or  business.  His  death,  April  5th,  1865,  closed  a  long  life  of  earnest  work, 
in  which  some  few  powers  were  conspicuous,  but  nothing  permanently  de- 
veloped beyond  a  good,  courteous,  practical  manhood.  He  left  a  wife  and 
seven  children,  the  two  eldest  of  whom  are  in  business  in  the  leather  trade  in 
the  Swamp.  Mr.  Trotter  was  the  first  president  of  the  Atlantic  Bank  of 
Brooklyn,  and,  at  one  time,  vice-president  of  the  Leather  Manufacturers' 
Bank  of  New  York. 

The  board,  also,  voted  $50,000  to  liquidate  past  and  future 
expenses. 

July.  The  real  estate  of  the  late  Samuel  Jackson  was  sold  at 
the  highest  rate  of  any  during  the  rage  of  speculation  ;  amounting 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  251 

70,000.  A  convention  of  twenty  citizens  were  at  work,  this 
month,  on  a  city  flan  ;  and  a  smallpox  visitation  led  to  a  general 
gratuitous  vaccination  of  the  poor. 

September.  Fulton  street,  from  Front  street  to  Water,  was 
widened  by  the  demolition  of  the  buildings  on  the  east  side. 

A  plan  of  the  proposed  City  Hall  was  submitted  and  approved. 

October.  The  "Walkabout  toll-bridge  was  made  free;  and 
General  Johnson  having  informed  the  corporation,  that  the  city 
owned  a  public  landing  at  the  Wallabont,  it  was  forthwith  ordered 
to  be  surveyed  and  reclaimed.  At  this  time  also  native  American 
political  associations  were  formed  in  Brooklyn,  and  John  Dikeman, 
their  candidate  for  assembly,  was  elected,  by  seventy-eight  votes, 
over  NT.  B.  Morse.  In  February  following,  forty  citizens  of  King's 
county  petitioned  the  legislature  to  vacate  Mr.  Dikeman's  seat  in 
the  assembly,  on  the  ground  of  his  being  a  clergyman  (he  being  a 
Methodist,  occasionally  exhorted  or  preached) ;  the  petitioners, 
however,  were  allowed  to  withdraw  their  petition. 

Xovember.  The  population  of  Brooklyn  was  ascertained  to 
be  24,310,  being  a  gain  of  9,015  in  fifteen  years. 

December.  A  proposition  was  made  to  the  common  council 
for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  water-line  in  the  front  of  the 
city ;  and  the  same  body  declined  to  accept  the  city  map  and  plan 
submitted  to  them  by  the  citizens'  convention. 

The  close  of  this  year,  found  a  City  Hall  in  process  of  erection,  the 
Lyceum  building  nearly  completed,  the  Jamaica  rail  road  finished, 
and  several  boats  almost  ready  for  use  on  the  new  south  ferry. 

The  Erin  Fraternal  Beneficial  Association  was  chartered  this  year. 

1836.  January.  The  corporation  commenced  the  year  with  a 
notice  of  their  intention  to  apply  to  the  legislature  for  an  act 
authorizing  the  election  of  the  mayor,  by  the  people.  Gen.  J.  G. 
Swift  made  a  report  on  a  permanent  watt  r  line  for  the  city.  He 
recommended  a  line  of  bulkheads  "  from  the  outer  end  of  the 
wharf  east  of  Jackson  street  ferry,  extending  thence  to  the  outer 
end  of  the  wharf  near  to  Jay  street,  and  thence  to  the  outer  end 
of  wharf  near  to  Adams  street,  and  thence  to  a  point  in  the  East 
river,  that  is  two  "hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  from  the  edge  of 
the  dock  at  the  end  of  Fisher  street,  and  thence  to  a  point  in  the 


252  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

East  river,  that  is  one  hundred  and  one  feet  from  the  outer  end 
of  the  easternmost  wharf  on  the  east  side  of  Fulton  Ferry ;  again 
commencing  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  south-west  wharf  of 
Fulton  Ferry,  at  the  outer  end  of  that  wharf,  and  extending  to  a 
point  in  the  East  river  that  is  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  from 
the  north  side  of  Furman  street,  in  a  range  with  the  east  side  of 
Cranberry  street,  and  thence  to  a  point  in  the  East  river  that  is 
two  hundred  and  forty-five  feet  from  the  north-east  corner  of 
Joralemon  street  dock;  again  commencing  at  the  point  last 
named,  and  extending  thence  to  a  point  in  the  East  river  that  is 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  from  the  south-west  corner  of  J. 
Cornell's  mill,  in  a  range  towards  the  south-east  corner  of  the  East 
wharf  and  Governor's  island,  and  thence  extending  to  a  point  in 
the  East  river  that  is  1,308  feet  from  ordinary  high  water  mark, 
at  the  end  of  Chauncy  street,  and  thence  to  a  point  in  the  East 
river  that  is  two  hundred  feet  in  front  of  the  outer  end  of  the 
wharf  at  Ked  Hook." 

The  general,  in  a  note  to  the  author,  in  1860,  says  "  this  line  be- 
came the  law  of  the  city,  but  my  plans,  and  report,  and  all  other 
documents,  and  resolutions  of  the  common  council  suddenly  dis- 
appeared from  its  records,  and  whether  ever  returned  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  anxiety  to  extend  lots  into  the  water  has  done  some 
injury  to  that  water  line." 

The  corporation,  also,  entertained  a  project  to  purchase  the 
Apprentices'  library  (subsequently  known  as  the  City  Buildings, 
whose  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  City  Armory)  for  the  sum  of 
$11,000.     The  purchase  was  completed  in  August  following. 

On  the  25th  of  this  month,  the  first  locomotive  engine  was  placed 
upon  the  Jamaica  rail  road,  and  on  the  18th  of  April  following, 
the  ceremony  of  breaking  ground  for  the  Long  Island  rail  road 
took  place  at  Jamaica,  whereat  were  processions,  addresses,  etc., 
appropriate  to  an  event  of  such  public  interest.1 

March  10th.  It  is  announced  that  Samuel  Cheever,  Isaiah 
Tiffany  and  Alonzo  G.  Hammond  are  appointed  as  commissioners 
to  lay  out  the  city. 

1  See  Prime's  History  of  Long  Island,  56,  57. 


BISTORT  ()F  BROOKLYN. 

On  the  28th    of  April,  the  corner-stone   of  tie  Hall   was 

bid,  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  and  an  address  by  the  mayor, 
Jonathan  Trotter,  Esq.  This  was  one  of  the  greatest  undertakings 
into  which  the  nascent  city  of  Brooklyn  had  been  betrayed  by 
the  pride  of  its  new  dignities,  as  well  as  by  the  sanguine  spirit 
which  universally  prevailed  in  that  day  of  speculation  and  ex- 
travagance. How  grand  the  expectations,  and  how  buoyant  the 
spirit  of  its  citizens  then  were,  may  easily  be  interred,  from  the 
following  description  of  the  new  building,  as  published  at  the 
time: 

Brooklyn  City  Hall,  now  erecting,  is  situated  at  the  intersection  of 
Fulton,  Court  and  Joraleinon  streets,  occupying  an  entire  block,  forming  a 
scalene  triangle,  of  269  feet  on  Fulton  street.  250  on  Court  street,  and  222 
on  Joraleinon  street.  The  exterior  of  the  building  is  to  be  constructed  of 
marble,  and  to  have  porticoes  on  the  three  fronts,  with  columns  36  feet,  6 
inches  high,  ornamented  with  capitals  of  the  Grecian  order,  from  the  design 
of  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  resting  on  a  pedestal  base,  17  feet  high,  which 
when  finished,  will  be  62  feet  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  cornice. 
The  angles  are  to  be  surmounted  by  domes,  aud  rising  from  the  centre  of  the 
building  will  be  a  tower,  of  125  feet  high,  which  will  be  enriched  with  a 
cornice  and  entablature,  supported  with  caryatides  standing  on  pedestals. 
The  whole  will  have  a  most  splendid  and  imposing  appearance  when  finished. 

The  interior  will  be  finished  in  the  most  chaste  and  durable  style  of 
architecture,  calculated  to  accomodate  the  different  public  offices,  courts,  etc., 
attached  to  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

Unfortunately  for  the  pride  of  Brooklyn,  yet  perhaps  a  blessing 
in  disguise,  the  walls  of  this  ambitious  structure,  were  suddenly 
arrested  before  they  had  scarcely  risen  above  their  foundations, 
by  the  lack  of  means,  consequent  upon  the  severe  commercial 
revulsion  of  1836-  7.  And  when,  after  ten  years  of  patient  waiting, 
they  began  again  to  rise  towards  completion,  it  was  on  a  reduced 
scale  of  architectural  grandeur,  and  consequently  at  a  much 
diminished  rate  of  expense. 

May.  Jonathan  Trotter,  Esq.,  was  reelected  mayor  of  the  city, 
by  the  board  of  aldermen;  and  the  Atlantic  Bank  of  Brooklyn, 
was  established  by  act  of  the  legislature.  On  the  16th  of  this 
month,  the  boats  on  the  new  south  ferry  commenced  their  trips. 


254  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

August  23d.  A  collision  occurred  between  the  steam  ferry 
boat  on  the  Jackson  and  Walnut  street  ferry,  and  the  steamer 
Boston,  resulting  in  the  sinking  of  the  former,  and  the  loss  of 
six  persons,  together  with  a  number  of  horses  and  wagons.  On 
the  27th,  the  corner-stone  of  the  City  Jail,  in  Eaymond  street, 
near  Fort  Greene,  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

December.  During  the  course  of  this  month,  the  Brooklyn 
Lyceum  was  completed  and  occupied,  and  by  March  following,  had 
already  been  furnished  with  a  reading. room,  library  and  museum. 

The  Brooklyn  Bank  was  also  added  to  the  moneyed  institution 
of  the  city. 

Furman  (in  his  Manuscript  Notes,  vn,  337),  under  date  of 
October,  1836,  makes  the  following  note  :  "  In  crossing  from  New 
York  to  Brooklyn,  this  evening,  I  for  the  first  time  became 
acquainted  with  the  distinction  between  the  two  sides  of  Fulton 
street,  Brooklyn,  which  I  learned  from  the  conversation  of  two 
young  men.  The  easterly  side  is  called  the  democratic  side,  and 
the  westerly,  the  aristocratic  side.  The  division  means  the  whole 
of  the  place  on  each  side  of  the  street;  and,  when  I  think 
of  it,  the  distinction  is  founded  in  truth;  and  there  is  as  much 
real  distinction  in  character  between  the  two  parts  of  this 
city,  divided  by  a  line  through  the  centre  of  that  street,  as  there 
could  be  between  two  distinct  and  separate  places.  The  easterly 
part  is  inhabited  by  the  class  of  people,  from  whom  the  democratic 
party  get  their  large  majorities,  and  who  give  them  their  pre- 
ponderating influence  in  the  common  council  of  this  city. 

*  *  *  On  the  westerly  side,  reside  the  men  of  order, 
and  friends  of  good  government,  the  silk  stocking  gentry,  as  the 
democrats  call  them."  In  a  note,  dated  1838,  Mr.  Furman  adds, 
"  since  the  above,  the  whigs  have  made  great  inroads  upon  the 
easterly  part  of  the  city,  and  having  obtained  the  preponderance 
and  decided  majority  in  the  4th  Ward,  the  above  distinction  no 
longer  exists." 

St.  Paul's  Eoman  Catholic  and  the  First  Primitive  Methodist 
churches  were  established. 

1837.  May  1st.  General  Jeremiah  Johnson  was  elected  mayor 
of  the  city  by  the  board  of  aldermen. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  255 

General  JEREMIAH  Johnson,  who  has  been  aptly  and  justly  styled 
"Brooklyn's  first  and  foremost  citizen,"  was  a  descendant,  in  the  fourth  genera- 
tion, of  Jan  Barentsen  Van  Driest,  who  came  in  1657,  from  Zutphen  in 
Guelderland,  and  settled  at  Gravesend.1  His  father,  Barnet  Johnson,  was 
born  April  2,  1740,  married  September  8,  3764,  to  Anne  Remsen,  of  New- 
town, and  died  November  6,  1782,  having  been  distinguished  as  an  active 
patriot  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  He  was  encamped,  in  command 
of  a  portion  of  the  Kings  County  militia,  at  Harlem,  in  1776,  and  in  the 
following  year  was  captured  by  the  British,  and  only  obtained  his  parole 
from  Gen.  Howe,  through  the  kind  interposition  of  a  masonic  brother.  In 
order  to  help  on  the  cause  to  which  he  was  devoted,  he  shrank  not  from 
personal  and  pecuniary  risks,  but  suggested  loans  from  friends  in  his  county 
to  the  American  government,  and  himself  set  the  example  by  loaning  first 
£700  and  afterwards  sums  amounting  to  85,000,  all  the  security  for  which 
was  a  simple  private  receipt;  given,  too,  in  times  of  exceeding  peril  and 
discouragement,  a  noble  and  memorable  deed. 

Jeremiah,  his  son  and  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  born  January  23, 
1766,  and  was,  consequently,  at  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  in 
his  eleventh  year.  He  was  old  enough,  says  his  eloquent  biographer,-  to 
know  all  about  the  mustering  of  the  forces,  of  the  invasion  of  the  enemy,  of 
the  catastrophe  of  the  bloody  and  fatal  battle  near  his  very  home,  of  the 
imprisonment  of  his  father,  and  of  the  capture  of  the  city.  Right  before 
his  eyes,  in  the  Wallabout  bay,  lay  anchored  the  dreadful  prison-ships,  in 
which  during  the  war,  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  victims  perished.  He 
saw  the  bands  of  soldiers  as  they  traversed  the  country,  the  array  of  ships  of 
war,  the  moving  of  their  armed  boats  upon  the  water,  and  his  ears  were 
familiar  with  the  sounds  of  martial  music  and  adventure,  and  his  eyes  with 
the  signs  of  invasion,  and  of  conflict.  He  heard  his  father  stigmatized  as  a 
rebel,  and  with  his  own  eyes  he  saw  English  soldiers  intruding  on  his  home 
domain,  and  cutting  down  his  finest  trees  remorselessly. 

But  that  same  boy  lived  to  see  another  sight.  In  1783,  on  the  25th  of 
November,  he   saw  the  Americau  guard  relieve  the  British;  he  saw  British 

*It  has  been  stated  and  hitherto  fully  believed,  that  the  ancestor  of  Gen  Johnson 
was  Antonie  Jansen  Van  Salee.  This,  however  is  an  error.  See  Riker,  note,  p. 
268 ;  also,  an  article  by  Teunis  Gt.  Bergen,  in  Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle,  February  30, 
1851. 

'A  Memorial  Discourse  on  the  Life,  Character,  and  Services  of  General  Jeremiah 
Johnson,  of  Brooklyn,"  delivered  before  the  St.  Nicholas  Society  of  Nassau  Island,  on 
20th  October,  1853.  We  quote  largely  from  this  glowing  and  truthful  biography 
of  Gen.  Johnson. 


256  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

troops  marching,  for  the  last  time,  down  Broadway  to  the  battery,  and  em- 
barking in  boats  to  their  ships  ;  he  saw  Gen.  Washington  and  suite,  at  the 
head  of  American  troops,  marching  down  Pearl  street  to  the  battery  ;  he 
saw  the  British  flag  pulled  down,  and  the  first  American  flag  hoisted  and 
waving  in  the  breeze.  That  these  stirring  sce'nes  made  an  indelible  im- 
pression upon  his  mind  and  character,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the 
reminiscences,  descriptions,  maps,  etc.,  of  Gen.  Johnson,  have  since  formed 
the  largest  and  certainly  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  Revolutionary  lore 
of  Kings  county,  which  has  been  handed  down  to  our  day,  and  has  been 
largely  drawn  upon  by  every  local  and  general  historian  of  Long  Island. 

His  father  dying  before  the  peace,  young  Johnson  was  thrown  the  more 
upon  himself;  and,  though  the  distracted  times  were  very  unfavorable  to 
regular  education,  he  improved  his  opportunities  as  he  was  able;  attended 
night  schools;  taught  himself,  and  gradually  disciplined  and  developed  the 
elements  of  a  manly,  self-made,  and  self-reliant  character. 

"  Then,  as  a  good,  quiet  citizen,  he  lived  upon  his  farm  in  faithful  in- 
dustry; married  his  first  wife,  Abigail,  a  daughter  of  Bern.  Bemsen,  in 
1787,  who  died  in  her  eighteenth  year,  in  1788;  his  second  wife,  Sarah,  a 
daughter  of  Teunis  Bapalye,  in  1791,  who  died  in  her  fifty- third  year,  in 
1825  ;  and  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living 
(two  sons,  Barnet  and  Jeromus,  and  two  daughters,  Sarah  Anne, 
married  to  Nicholas  Wyckoff",  and  Susanna,  married  to  Lambert  Wyckoff), 
children  who  well  sustain  the  paternal  reputation,  following  in  his  steps  of 
virtuous  example,  of  benevolence  and  usefulness,  patronizing  the  erection 
of  churches  and  every  worthy  cause.  His  mother  died  on  the  anniversary 
of  her  birthday,  in  1792,  aged  47  years.  The  old  homestead  was  taken  down 
and  the  fine  substantial  mansion,  now  occupied  by  the  family,  was  erected 
near  the  same  spot,  in  1801/' 

In  1796,  he  became  a  trustee  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  which  office  he 
continued  to  hold  for  twenty  years,  and  which  was  the  beginning  of  his 
public  career.  Naturally,  of  a  social  turn,  of  benevolent  impulses,  and  public 
spirited  withal,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  whatever  promised  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  native  island;  and,  from  his  very  character,  position,  and 
associations,  he  became  early  connected  with  public  affairs.  Of  such  offices 
as  were  consistent  with  a  home  residence,  and  interfered  not  with  the 
efficient  prosecution  of  his  own  business,  all  were  conferred  upon  him,  which 
a  grateful  and  confiding  community  could  bestow.  In  1800,  he  was  chosen 
a  supervisor  of  the  town,  which  position  he  held  until  about  1840,  during  a 
large  portion  of  which  time  he  was  chairman  of  the  board.  And  it  is 
within  the  memory  of  several,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  attending  the  meet- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  2 57 

ings  of  that  body,  to  have  seen  Gen.  Johnson  presiding  with  a  long  pipe  in 
his  mouth,  surrounded  by  other  members  addicted  to  the  use  of  the  weed, 
enjoying  also  the  luxury  of  a  smoke  in  the  midst  of  their  deliberations. 

In  1808,  and  again  in  1809,  the  general  filled  a  seat  as  representative 
from  Kings  county,  in  the  assembly,  and,  it  is  almost  needless  to  add,  dis- 
charged his  duties  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  constituents. 

He  took  an  active  part,  also,  in  military  matters  —  a  taste,  which  perhaps 
inherited  from  his  father,  was  undoubtedly  fostered  and  increased  by  the 
stirring  scenes  of  his  boyhood  and  youth.  During  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  from  1812  tp  1815.  he  was  at  first  only  a  junior  captain,  but  when 
one  was  solicited  to  go  out  in  command  on  the  frontier,  others  declining 
he  volunteered  for  the  dangerous  duty;  and  so  he  took  precedence  by  con- 
sent, and  early  became  colonel.  Meanwhile,  he  was  very  active  in  raising 
troops,  and  took  great  interest  in  military  affairs ;  and  held  himself  ready  at 
call.  He  was  then  honored  with  a  brigadier  general's  commission,  and  was 
placed  in  the  command  of  the  22d  Brigade  of  Infantry,  numbering  1.750 
men,  and  in  view  of  a  defense  against  an  invasion,  then  almost  daily  ex- 
pected, was  ordered  on  Sept.  2,  1814,  to  Fort  Greene,  in  Brooklyn,  on  which 
a  fort  and  barracks  were  erected,  a  service  on  which  (as  he  wrote  to  his 
children),  "  I  entered  most  willingly."  There  he  remained  in  camp  for 
three  months,  when  peace  was  made  between  the  mother  country  aud  our 
own ;  never  again,  we  trust,  to  be  interrupted.  Whilst  there  he  was  conspicu- 
ous for  his  soldier-like  ability  ;  he  proved  himself  an  excellent  disciplinarian  ; 
and  he  was  a  great  favorite  with  officers  and  privates,  watching  carefully 
over  their  rights  and  comforts,  and  most  impartial  in  discipline,  except  that 
he  was  said  to  restrain  and  punish  his  special  friends  the  soonest  and  the 
most.  He  was  fortunate  as  well,  for  in  that  three  months'  time,  no  one  of 
his  soldiers  died.  After  the  peace  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  major  general, 
an  office  which  he  held  during  his  life,  though  not  in  actual  command  of  a 
division. 

When,  in  1816,  Brooklyn  was  erected  into  a  village,  Gen.  Johnson's 
residence  was  left  outside  of  the  village  bounds,  and  of  course,  he  could  not, 
except  by  his  own  influence  in  a  private  capacity,  which  he  ever  largely  ex- 
ercised, participate  in  its  public  affairs;  but,  in  1835.  the  City  Charter  was 
obtained,  and  the  bounds  were  so  extended  as  to  include  the  8th  and  9th 
wards,  which  brought  his  home  again  within  the  lines.  In  1837  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  reelected  in  1838  and  1839.  As 
a  public  officer  he  was  faithful,  prompt  and  indefatigable,  while  his  punctu- 
ality was  proverbial.  The  hour  of  meeting  for  the  common  council  was 
3  p.  m.,  and  promptly  to  the  moment,  the  general  was  always  in  the  chair, 

33 


258  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

and,  ordered  the  roll  to  be  called  ;  if  a  quorum  was  present,  the  business  went 
on  ;  if  not,  the  board  stood  adjourned  to  the  next  time  of  meeting. 

Indicative  of  this  prominent  trait  of  punctuality,  is  his  portrait,  now 
hanging  in  the  City  Hall,  in  which  he  is  represented  as  holding  his  watch, 
with  his  forefinger  pointing  to  the  minute  hand,  which  had  traveled  past 
the  even  hour  of  the  appointment. 

In  1840  he  was  elected  again  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  and,  in 
1841,  was  reelected  to  the  same  responsible  position.  In  1848  he  was  chosen 
the  first  president  of  the  St.  Nicholas  Society  of  Nassau  Island,  an  office  for 
which  he  was  preeminently  fitted,  and  which  he  held  until  his  death.  In 
1849,  he  was  unanimously  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  American 
Institute,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member  since  the  year  1836,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  heheld  the  position  of  chairman  of  its  board  of  agriculture.1 
It  may,  also,  be  mentioned  in  this  connection,  that,  while  a  member  of  the 
assembly,  in  1841,  he  was  quite  active  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
agriculture,  in  completing  and  urging  to  its  final  passage  the  act  for  the 
encouragement  of  agriculture  in  the  state  of  New  York,  from  the  operations 
of  which  act,  that  department  of  labor  has,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  con- 
tinue to  derive  lasting  benefits. 

"  Besides  all  these,"  says  his  biographer,  "  there  was  hardly  an  occasional 
or  incidental  duty  in  the  business  of  agriculture,  of  education,  of  improve- 
ments, of  reference,  of  management,  to  which  he  was  not  summoned;  as  a 
striking  instance  of  which,  I  mention  as  illustrating  his  business  capacity  and 
experience,  as  well  as  the  reputation  and  high  confidence  he  maintained 
amidst  the  community ;  that  a  member  of  the  bar  informed  me  he  could 
hardly  go  into  any  search  of  title  in  Brooklyn,  without  coming  in  contact 
with  his  name  in  all  partitions  of  property  in  four  cases  out  of  five." 

The  general  made  no  pretensions  to  literature,  and  seldom  wrote  anything 
for  the  public  eye  ;  he  nevertheless  wielded  an  efficient  pen,  when  his  feelings 
were  aroused,  or  his  sense  of  justice  and  propriety  were  violated  by  official 
malpractices  or  the  wrong  doing  of  others.  He  was  fond  of  putting  down 
memoranda  and  scraps  of  history,  and  interesting  facts  which  his  observation 
and  experience  had  gathered ;  though  he  did  it  in  an  incidental  way,  rather 
like  one  meaning  to  gather  them  for  further  arrangement,  and  as  materials 
for  a  more  labored  attempt.  Sometimes  he  did  thus  bring  them  into  a  more 
collected  form,  and  write  them  out  partially,  for  a  lecture  before  some 
lyceurn,  or  society,  or  for  the  use  of  some  inquiring  friend ;  still,  even  in  the 
lecture,  often  putting  down  but  heads,  leaving  memory  and  speech  to  fill  up 

'At  one  time,  also,  he  was  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  259 

the  intervals.  Thus  we  have  reminiscences  of  Brooklyn,  a  discourse  on  the 
Revolutionary  war,  notes  on  the  early  settlement  of  Williamsburgh  and 
Bushwick,  and  Long  Island  generally,  and  accounts  of  some  of  the  old 
families  of  the  island.  He  seems,  also,  to  have  been  fond  of  taking  up  some 
religious  or  biblical  theme,  or  sacred  history  of  truth,  and  writing  down  his 
thoughts.  Sometimes,  too,  he  ventured  to  indulge  the  dangerous  luxury  of 
courting  the  muse  of  poetry,  oftener  in  satiric  and  political  than  sentimental 
strain.  Sometimes  he  is  exploring  the  lines  of  townships,  reporting  upon 
records,  searching  into  titles.  One  large  volume  contains  all  the  orders  given 
out  by  him  as  brigadier-general,  and  facts  connected  with  his  official  military 
life.  Sometimes  there  is  a  communication  on  the  finances  of  Brooklyn, 
sometimes  upon  its  rights;  now  an  essay  on  the  fall  of  nations,  now  some 
fragmentary  folio  leaves,  upon  the  reformation  in  France.  Sometimes  there 
are  translations  from  Erasmus,  and  other  old  authors.  Well  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  Holland,  he  was  fond  of  making  translations 
from  its  writers;  and  his  excellent  translation  of  Von  der  Donk's  His- 
tory of  Ne\o  Netherlands,  evincing  knowledge  of  the  tongue  of  the  father- 
land, is  highly  complimented  by  Thompson,  in  his  History  of  Long  Island. 
Indeed,  there  has  not  been  an  author  meditating  a  work  upon  Long  Island, 
or  publishing  one,  who  has  not  conferred  with  General  Jeremiah  John- 
son, and  treasured  up  his  words ;  and  who  has  not  borrowed  and  used  his 
communications  and  his  notes,  and  made  grateful  mention  of  him  and  his 
assistance.  Thompson,  Prime,  Onderdonk,  Strong,  Riker,  in  their  histories, 
all  do  this  ;  and  generally  give  his  personal  history  and  eulogium.  Some 
publish  pages  of  his  communications,  all  have  introduced  his  facts.  Thus  it 
has  happened,  that  in  one  shape  or  another,  these  have  been  long  since  and 
repeatedly  brought  before  the  public,  and  form  materials  of  our  known  and 
popular  histories. 

"  He  was  a  modest,  consistent,  obedient,  habitual,  conforming  Christian. 
A  cheerful,  hopeful,  and  confiding  religiousness  characterized  him,  united 
to  an  active  spirit,  ever  ready  to  be  serviceable.  He  belonged  to  the  old 
Dutch  Reformed  Congregation,  in  Brooklyn.  In  that  congregation,  from 
boyhood  to  old  age,  he  was  a  steadfast  worshiper.  For  fifty  years  he  was 
there  a  communicant.  He  was,  we  may  say,  a  standing  member  of  the 
consistory,  in  and  out,  alternating,  according  to  the  parish  method,  continu- 
ally. He  was  clerk  of  the  consistory  for  forty  years,  until  his  resignation 
in  1843.  On  all  business  committees  he  was  the  working  member ;  and, 
when  church  or  parsonage  was  to  be  erected,  his  name  is  prominent  among 
the  building  committee,  in  council,  or  for  accomplishment.  There  is  also  a 
religious  tone  in  all  his  lectures  and  communications,  which  bespeaks  the 


260  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

religious  man.  And  the  subject  of  his  compositions  is  frequently  a  scriptural 
or  religious  one  —  notes  on  Genesis,  remarks  on  the  Catechism,  particularly 
on  the  Lord's  Supper  j  the  republic  of  the  Hebrews,  etc.,  showing  his 
habitual  interest  in  subjects  kindred  to  his  faith.  Some  of  these  communi- 
cations are  particularly  affecting.  One  is  endorsed  "  Remarks  to  my 
Children,  when  I  took  command  in  the  war  of  1812,"  when  he  knew  not 
how  soon  he  might  fill  a  soldier's  grave.  Another  is  a  record  of  the  charge 
given  to  him  by  his  father,  Barnet,  an  hour  before  his  death,  by  him  re- 
corded, so  he  writes,  "  to  transmit  to  his  children  and  their  posterity  the 
desire  of  their  worthy  father,  and  to  show  with  what  zeal  he  desired  to  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  God ;  hoping  that  he  may,  with  this  precept,  together 
with  the  example  left  them  of  his  piety,  inspire  them  (with  the  help  of 
God),  with  principles  similar  to  those  he  possessed."  The  charge  was 
this :  "  My  son,  I  am  about  departing  this  life,  and  earnestly  desire  that 
you  pay  strict  attention  to  the  religion  I  have  taken  care  to  instruct  you  in, 
and  that  you  in  no  wise  forsake  our  Dutch  church;  and  further,  that  you  obey 
the  commands  of  your  mother,  and  assist  her  in  supporting  and  taking  care 
of  your  brothers  and  sisters.     Herewith,  God  give  you  grace  —  farewell." 

Gen.  Johnson  was  remarkably  active,  prompt,  decided ;  never  idle ;  of 
indefatigable  industry.  His  long  uninterrupted  healthfulness  kept  up  his 
activity,  his  elasticity  and  constitutional  cheerfulness ;  he  was  kindly  to  all, 
very  warm-hearted  and  affectionate  ;  generous  in  all  his  instincts,  sympathiz- 
ing with  the  young.  The  boy  lived  on  even  in  his  aged  heart,  and  had 
never  died  out.  He  was  scrupulous  and  exact  in  fulfilling  his  duties,  and 
attended  to  his  trusts  with  a  peculiarly  Holland  integrity  and  fidelity; 
punctual  to  the  time,  and  expecting  punctuality  from  others.  Quick  tem- 
pered he  was,  but  he  bore  no  resentment;  he  was  ready  to  be  reconciled. 
If  his  indignation  was  aroused,  it  was  at  manifest  injustice,  cruelty  or  wrong, 
and  seldom  personally,  except  there  were  an  attempt  at  imposition  or  deceit ; 
for  frank  and  above  board  himself,  he  expected  and  allowed  no  trickery  in 
others.  He  commanded  to  an  almost  unexampled  degree  the  confidence  of 
the  community,  and  he  had  no  sympathy  with  anything  that  tended  at  all 
to  impair  private  or  public  faith.  He  was  of  social,  genial  mood;  he  was 
fond  of  his  pipe,  even  to  the  last,  and  handled  it  from  his  seventeenth 
year  to  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  his  death.  He  was  fond  of  his  gun, 
relishing  such  active  sport  even  in  his  old  age.  He  was  fond  of  walking,  and 
of  manly  exercise ;  from  youth  up,  he  was  an  early  riser,  and  he  went  early 
to  bed.  He  was  temperate  and  simple  in  his  diet;  "  one  dish  "  was  a  general 
word  and  practice  at  his  meals.  He  took  pleasure  in  seeing  his  friends, 
was  full  of  conversation,  abounded  in  anecdote,  had  hopeful  views  of  life, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  261 

and  took  interest  in  passing  events,  and  in  personal  history.  His  free, 
easy,  unreserved  manners,  made  him  ever  a  welcome  and  delightful  guest. 
He  could  give  information  upon  the  gravest  and  most  important  themes, 
he  could  sympathize  with  the  most  common.  If  there  was  an  ancient  tree  ' 
or  stump  connected  with  some  memorial  of  the  past,  he  knew  of  it,  and  he 
was  the  one  to  mark  it  by  a  monumental  stone.  If  there  was  any  interest- 
ing incident,  he  laid  it  up  in  the  treasure  house  of  his  memory,  and  brought 
it  out  as  occasion  served.  His  perception  was  quick  and  clear,  and  his  tact 
admirable ;  and  well  nigh  to  the  last,  his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural 
force  abated,  and  his  voice  continued  full  and  strong. 

His  death,  which  occurred  on  the  20th  of  October,  1852,  was  iu  harmony 
with  hi§  life — calm,  trustful  and  serene,  and  caused  a  wide-spread  and  pro- 
found sensation  of  sorrow  throughout  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  The  union, 
state  and  city  flags  were  displayed  at  half-mast  on  the  City  Hall  and  other 
public  buildings.  The  municipal  authorities,  the  military  authorities,  the 
board  of  supervisors,  the  social  institutions,  the  agricultural  societies,  etc., 
all  immediately  held  special  meetings,  passed  resolutions  of  condolence  and 
respect,  and  attended  his  funeral  as  mourners.  All  the  press  united  to  do 
him  honor,  and  each  newspaper  gave  full  detail  of  his  public  and  private 
life,  and  recorded  his  well-merited  eulogy.  The  last  solemn  obsequies,  in 
accordance  with  his  own  particular  request  just  previous  to  his  decease, 
were  unaccompanied  with  any  military  or  official  display ;  they  were  simple, 
earnest  and  heartfelt;  and  now  he  rests  among  his  kindred  in  beautiful 
Greenwood. 


May  11th.  The  three  banks  of  the  city,  in  accordance  with 
the  advice  of  a  public  meeting  of  citizens,  suspended  specie 
payment.  It  was  a  season  of  great  pressure  in  the  money 
market,  and  small  bills  or  shhijrtasters,  issued  by  corporations  and 
individuals,  were  extensively  circulated.  The  new  City  Hall  also 
succumbed  to  the  hard  times,  and  its  erection  was  suspended  in 
August.  In  September  the  common  council  determined  to  peti- 
tion congress  to  make  Brooklyn  a  'port  of  entry. 

The  Brooklyn  Sabbath  School  Union  was  organized,  and  reorgan- 
ized in  1855.    The  Ebenezer  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  formed. 

1838.  April  18th.  Gen.  Jeremiah  Johnson  was  reelected  mayor 
of  Brooklyn.     City  matters  were  very  dull.     On  the  same  day  the 

1  See  Strong' 8  Flatbush,  p.  39. 


262  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Greenwood  Cemetery  was  incorporated  as  a  joint  stock  company  ; 
and  on  the  11th  of  April,  1839,  was  incorporated  as  an  association 
of  lot  owners. 

St.  Mary's  Protestant  Episcopal  church  was  established. 

1839.  January.  Memorable  for  the  establishment  of  the  Board 
of  Education.  The  commissioners  for  laying  out  the  city  completed 
their  labors. 

May  9.  Cyrus  P.  Smith,  Esq.,  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city 
by  the  aldermen. 

July.  The  tomb  of  the  martyrs,  at  the  Wallabout,  was  purchased 
by  Benjamin  Pomaine,  Esq.,  and  appropriate  inscriptions  added 
as  they  now  appear  (see  vol.  I,  p.  372).  During  this  month,  also, 
President  Van  Buren  visited  the  city,  and  received  its  hospitalities 
at  Duflon's  hotel. 

August  24th.  The  Hon.  Henry  Clay  visited  Brooklyn,  and  was 
escorted  through  the  city,  by  a  grand  procession.  He  made  an  ad- 
dress to  the  people  in  afield,  near  the  new  City  Hall.  In  September, 
Gov.  Seward  visited  the  city,  and  was  entertained  at'the  City  hotel. 

August  27th.     The  Fulton  and  South  ferries  were  consolidated. 

The  Emerald  Benevolent  Association  was  organized  this  year. 

The  Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  formed. 

1840.  April  14.  The  first  election  of  the  mayor  by  the  people, 
in  conformity  with  an  act  of  the  legislature,  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  Cyrus  P.  Smith,  Esq. 

The  city  of  Brooklyn,  at  this  time,  covered  a  district  of  twelve 
miles  square,  having  a  population  of  over  30,000,  thirty-five  miles 
of  regulated,  paved  and  lighted  streets,  two  markets,  a  large 
police,  an  efficient  fire  department,  a  good  government,  twenty- 
three  churches,  three  banks,  whose  united  capital  was  $1,000,000, 
one  saving's  bank,  two  lyceums  (one  for  apprentices,  the  other  at 
the  Navy  Yard),  good  schools,  libraries,  etc. 

The  Atlantic  dock  company  was  this  year  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  of  $1,000,000. 

The  Pierrepont  street  Baptist,  Calvary  Protestant  Episcopal,  and 
South  Gowanus  Reformed  Dutch  churches  were  organized. 

1841.  April  10th.  The  citizens  of  Brooklyn  united  with  those 
of  New  York  in  celebrating  the  obsequies  of  General  Harrison, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  263 

president  of  the  United  States.     On  the  13th  of  the  same  month, 
at  the  charter  election,  C.  P.  Smith  was  reelected  mayor. 

Cyrus  Porter  Smith,  son  of  Edward  and  Hannah  Smith,  was  born  at 
Hanover,  N.  H.,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1800.  His  father  being  a  farmer, 
Cyras,  during  his  boyhood,  worked  on  the  farm,  attending  district  schools 
in  the  winters  and  gaining  such  an  education  as  is  usually  picked  up  by  New 
England  boys.  The  scanty  lore  thus  obtained,  however,  so  far  from  satisfy- 
ing his  craving  for  knowledge,  served  only  to  develop  an  earnest  desire  to 
go  to  college.  That  his  father's  slender  means  would  not  permit  of  this. 
was  to  the  lad  a  matter  of  regret,  but  not  an  insurmountable  obstach  A 
liberal  education  he  would  have ;  so,  after  a  season  of  preparation  with  his 
brother  Xoah,  then  in  college,  he  entered  Dartmouth,  and  managed,  by 
teaching  district  schools  in  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  every  winter,  from 
the  time  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  to  pay  his  way  through,  graduating  in 
1824,  with  honor.  He  then  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  chief  justice 
T.  S.  Williams,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1827. 
While  at  Hartford,  he  added  to  his  somewhat  scanty  resources  by  teaching 
singing  schools,  during  the  winters,  in  various  portions  of  the  state,  and, 
during  one  of  these  excursions  in  Bristol,  became  acquainted  with  the  lady 
who  subsequently  became  his  wife.  Having  now  secured  his  collegiate 
and  professional  education,  he  scanned  the  prospects  in  one  part  of  the 
country  and  another,  and  finally  determined  to  locate  in  the  village  of 
Brooklyn.  Neither  he  nor  any  one  else  could  have  then  anticipated  the 
wonderful  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  place,  though  the  energy,  patience 
and  self-reliance  which  Mr.  Smith  had  already  developed  in  securing  his 
education  would  have  naturally  ensured  his  success  in  almost  any  place  where 
he  might  have  settled.  But  here  his  choice  fell,  and  hither  he  came  in 
September,  1827,  from  which  time,  until  the  following  April,  he  neither 
saw  a  client  nor  made  a  dollar,  and  then  his  first  fee  was  five  dollars. 
But  he  would  not  be  discouraged;  and,  though  he  could  not  compel 
business,  he  made  friends,  who  stuck  by  him.  He  connected  himself 
with  Dr.  Cox's  (First  Presbyterian)  church,  and  was  its  chorister  from 
1827  to  1859. 

During  the  Jackson  presidential  campaign  of  1S28,  also,  he  came  into 
public  notice  as  an  active  whig.  From  1833  to  1835  he  was  the  clerk  of 
the  village  board  of  trustees ;  and  corporation  counsel  of  the  new  city,  from 
1835  to  1839,  enjoying,  also,  by  this  time,  a  practice  equal  to  that  of  any 
lawyer  in  the  city.  In  1839,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  chosen  mayor  by  the 
aldermen,  the  fourth  which  the  city  had  had ;  and,  at  the  first  election  by 


264  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  people,  in  1840,  was  chosen  again,  holding  the  office  until  1842,  a 
period,  in  all,  of  three  years  and  four  months.  He  was  supervisor  in  the 
years  1836  and  1837;  and,  in  1848,  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  company  to  supply  the  city  with  gas,  sought  and  obtained  an 
election  as  alderman  from  the  Third  ward,  and,  to  his  efforts  in  the  public 
councils  and  with  private  capitalists,  was  largely  due  the  successful  inception 
of  Brooklyn's  first  gas  company.  Becoming  interested,  at  an  early  period  of 
his  residence  here,  in  the  public  schools  (then  under  the  care  of  school 
commissioners),  he  subsequently  became  a  most  active  and  influential  member 
of  the  board  of  education,  and  was  its  president  for  the  long  period  of  twenty- 
one  years.  The  whole  vast  system  of  public  education  in  Brooklyn,  includ- 
ing, at  present,  thirty-six  schools,  attended  by  60,000  children,  at  an 
annual  cost  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  was  put  into  practical  operation 
during  Mr.  Smith's  official  connection,  and  when,  in  March,  1868,  after 
thirty  years  connection  with  the  cause  of  public  education,  he  retired  from 
office  and  from  the  board,  his  associates  took  occasion  to  offer  their  personal 
and  official  testimony  to  his  long  and  important  services. 

In  1856  and  '57,  Mr.  Smith  represented  the  city  in  the  state  senate,  where 
he  held  the  position  of  chairman  of  the  committee  on  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion, to  which  was  entrusted  the  important  duty  of  definitely  establishing  the 
shore  lines  of  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  In  all  that  pertained 
to  the  ferry  communication  between  these  two  cities,  Mr.  Smith  always  took 
a  deep  interest ;  and,  at  an  early  day,  he  became  one  of  the  associates  of  the 
Union  Ferry  Company,  of  which,  since  1855,  he  has  been  managing  director, 
superintending  its  vast  interests  with  rare  skill  and  fidelity. 

In  January,  1869,  Mr.  Smith  was  appointed  the  acting  presidency  of  the 
Brooklyn  City  Bail  Road  Company,  with  which  he  has  been  connected  for 
some  years ;  and,  thus,  may  be  said,  to  hold  in  his  grasp,  at  the  present 
time,  the  combined  management  of  the  two  most  important  interests  of 
Brooklyn,  viz  :  its  means  of  egress  and  ingress,  and  its  facilities  of  local  travel 
and  transportation  j  interests,  we  may  add,  which  find  their  surest  guaranty 
in  the  admirable  and  comprehensive  executive  abilities  which  he  has  always 
displayed  in  every  position  of  public  trust. 

In  the  year  1839,  during  his  first  term  of  mayoralty,  Mr.  Smith,  in  con- 
nection with  the  late  Gen.  Robert  Nichols,  established  a  city  hospital  which, 
under  his  fostering  care,  became  the  present  Brooklyn  City  Hospital,1  and 
has  ever  proved  himself  to  this,  as  to  other  beneficent  institutions,  a  most 
steady,  influential  and  effective  friend. 

1  See  sketch  of  the  institution  in  this  volume. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  o,;-, 

Pew  men.  aa  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  sketch,  liave  been  more  con- 
BpicnouB  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  progress  of  Brooklyn,  during  the 
most  important  period  of  its  growth  and  development  (1830-1869)  than 
Uncle  Cyrus,  as  he  is  respectfully  called  by  many  of  his  oldest  fellow 
citizens,  and  by  thousands  of  the  public  school  children  who  have  grown  up 
an  mini  him  to  positions  of  usefulness  and  trust.  Never  presumptuous  in 
seeking  public  positions,  but  always  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties, 
he  has  made  a  lasting  impress  upon  his  day  and  generation,  and  has  secured 
the  approbation  of  all  who  knew  him. 

June  15th.  The  Atlantic  Dock  was  announced  as  being  just 
commenced. 

October  19th.  A  meeting  was  held  for  the  establishment  of 
a  Brooklyn  Athenceum,  embracing  a  library,  with  reading  room,  etc. 

December  29th.  The  large  ropewalk  owned  by  Messrs.  P.  & 
A.  Schermerhorn  and  occupied  by  Schermerhorn,  Banker  &  Co., 
fronting  on  Smith  street  and  parallel  with  and  between  State  and 
Schermerhorn  streets,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  house  and 
machinery  were  valued  at  $40,000,  and  the  stock  at  §25,000.  It 
was  said  to  have  been  the  most  extensive  establishment  of  the  kind 
in  the  United  States,  and  was  the  last  one  remaining  in  the  com- 
pact portion  of  the  city.  Its  destruction,  therefore,  removed  a 
barrier  to  the  improvement  of  property  in  that  vicinity. 

The  Brooklyn  City  Bible  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  American  Bible 
Society,  was  this  year  established.  Also,  the  Shamrock  Benevolent 
Society,  and  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  newspaper. 

1842.  The  principal  events  of  this  year  were,  the  consecration, 
March  3d,  of  Emmanuel  (Protestant  Episcopal)  church  ;  the  passage 
of  an  act,  April  1st,  by  the  legislature,  incorporating  the  Hamilton 
Literary  Association  ;  the  purchase  during  the  same  month  of  the 
grounds  occupied  by  Greenwood  Cemetery ;  the  election  (on  the 
12th)  of  Henry  C.  Murphy,  Esq.,  for  mayor,  by  a  majority  of  two- 
hundred  and  sixty-five  votes  over  the  then  incumbent  C.  P.  Smith, 
Esq. ;  the  change  of  the  Female  Institute  in  Hicks  street,  into  a 
fine  hotel,  now  known  as  the  Mansion  house;  the  destruction  (on 
the  loth  of  May),  by  incendiarism,  of  the  well  known  Joralemon 
mansion,  owned  and  occupied  by  Tunis  Joralemon,  Esq. ;  the  con- 
secration, on  the  28th  of  July,  of  Dr.  Stone's  church  (Presbyterian) 

34 


266  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

in  South  Brooklyn ;  and  the  death,  December  5th,  of  James  B. 
Clarke,  Esq.  St.  Luke's  Episcopal,  Sixth  Methodist  Episcopal  in 
South  Brooklyn,  and  Wallabout  Presbyterian,  Church  of  the  Res- 
toration, Universalist,  and  the  Christian  Disciples,  were  this  year 
established. 

Henry  Cruse  Murphy,  the  eldest  child  of  John  Gr.  Murphy  (whose  bio- 
graphy we  have  given  on  page  24  of  this  volume),  was  born  in  Brooklyn, 
in  1810,  and  has  ever  since  been  a  resident  of  the  county  of  Kings.  After 
receiviDg  a  preparatory  education  in  the  high  school  in  New  York,  he 
entered  Columbia  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1830.  He  then 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  with  the  late  Peter  W.  Radcliff,  of  Brook- 
lyn, but  practicing  the  profession  in  the  city  of  New  York  —  one  of  the 
best  lawyers  of  his  day,  and  a  man  of  established  purity  and  uprightness  of 
character  —  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  in  1833.  In  the  year  following,  he 
married  Miss  Amelia  Greenwood,  daughter  of  Richard  Greenwood,  of 
Haverstraw,  Rockland  county,  New  York.  He  soon  afterwards  entered  into 
partnership  with  the  Hon.  John  A.  Lott,  constituting  a  law  firm,  which 
under  the  name  of  Lott  &  Murphy,  and  subsequently  by  the  addition  of 
Hon.  John  Yanderbilt,  continued  for  over  twenty  years  a  leading  office 
in  the  city  and  county.  Though  applying  himself  assiduously  to  his  duties 
of  his  profession,  Mr.  Murphy  found  time  to"  bestow  on  literary  and  political 
subjects,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  several  periodicals  of  the  day, 
particularly  the  North  American  Review,  edited  by  the  late  Robert  Walsh, 
for  which  he  continued  to  write  for  several  years.  He  also  early  became 
known  in  political  circles,  in  which  he  has  since  occupied  a  foremost  position. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Murphy  entered  public  life,  the  state  of  New  York  had 
been  long  pursuing,  in  regard  to  its  moneyed  interests,  a  policy  which  had 
placed  the  banks,  in  every  section  of  the  state,  under  the  control  of  petty 
monopolists,  created  by  political  favoritism.  A  convention  of  the  democratic 
party,  to  which  he  has  always  been  connected,  assembled  at  Herkimer,  in 
1834,  to  which  Mr.  Murphy  was  elected  a  delegate.  On  its  organization, 
he  was  appointed  chairman  on  resolutions,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  ex- 
hibited that  foresight  and  energy  of  character,  for  which  he  has  since  been 
distinguished.  He  took  occasion  at  once,  to  introduce  in  the  committee,  and 
subsequently  in  the  convention,  a  resolution  denouncing  the  above  policy, 
although  the  patronage  which  it  created  had  been  distributed  for  the  benefit 
of  his  own  party.  Violent  opposition  was  made  to  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution,  but  it  finally  passed,  with  some  modification.  It  was,  however, 
never  permitted  to  see  the  light,  having  been  suppressed  in  the  official  re- 


^•#  Jj 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  267 

bori  of  ilif  proceedings  of  the  convention.  Still  it  had  its  affect  The 
fact  that  the  resolution  had  been  adopted  and  suppressed  BOOD  became  known. 
The  New  York-  Evening  Post,  then  edited  by  the  late  William  Leggett,  and 
many  other  journals,  exposed  the  unfair  proceeding,  took  up  the  doctrine,  and 
gave  it  a  strength  and  popularity,  which  resulted,  in  a  Few  years,  in  the  utter 
prostration  of  the  system  of  monopolized  banking  in  the  state  of  Now  Fork. 

Mr.  Murphy  was,  soon  after,  appointed  counsel  to  the  corporation  of  his 
native  city,  and,  consequently,  became  familiar  with  the  nature  and  operation 
of  municipal  corporations  generally.  In  1842,  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Brooklyn.  During  his  administration,  he  introduced  a  system  of  retrench- 
ment, which  actually  kept  the  expenditures  of  that  city  within  its  income. 
He  commenced  this  retrenchment  by  the  reduction  of  his  own  salary. 
Before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  as  mayor,  he  was  elected  member 
of  the  twenty-eighth  congress,  and  took  his  seat  accordingly  in  the  house  of 
representatives,  in  1843.  Although  one  of  its  youngest  members,  he  at  once 
occupied  a  high  position  in  that  body ;  and.  on  the  tariff  question,  advocated  a 
system  of  duties  for  revenue  purposes  only,  favoring  the  doctrine  of  free  trade. 

On  the  question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  he  advocated  the  measure, 
but  advised  its  postponement,  in  order  that  Mexico  might  be  afforded  an 
opportunity  to  give  her  assent,  and  that  more  unanimity  might  be  secured 
thereby  in  favor  of  it  in  the  United  States.  In  view  of  the  events  which 
transpired,  immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  that  measure,  the  wisdom  of 
this  recommendation  must  be  admitted.  On  other  questions  of  public  policy, 
he  took  an  equally  prominent  position  ;  and,  with  ability,  opposed  the  altera- 
tion of  the  naturalization  laws,  and  strongly  urged  the  inconsistency  of  such 
a  measure  with  the  genius  of  our  government,  and  its  bad  effects  on  the 
settlement  of  the  public  domain.  For  the  splendid  dry  dock,  which  has 
been  constructed  at  Wallabout  bay,  Brooklyn  is  entirely  indebted  to  Mr. 
Murphy's  zeal  and  perseverance. 

He  occupied  a  notable  position  as  a  member  of  the  convention  which  assem- 
bled, in  1846,  to  frame  a  new  constitution  for  this  state.  Here  he  brought 
forward  several  important  provisions,  some  of  which  were  eventually  incor- 
porated into  that  instrument.  His  course  on  this,  as  on  most  occasions, 
met  the  approbation  of  his  constituents,  and  on  his  return  from  the  conven- 
tion, he  was  again  elected  to  congress  by  the  largest  vote  ever  previously 
polled  in  his  district,  at  the  election  in  that  year. 

During  the  interval  which  followed  in  his  occupying  an  official  position, 
after  the  close  of  his  second  term  in  congress,  he  entered  zealously  into  the 
projects  for  the  advancement  of  Brooklyn.  He  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
different  measures  which  accomplished   the  introduction  of  water  into  the 


268  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

city,  from  the  streams  on  Long  Island,  and  prepared  most  of  the  laws  which 
were 'passed  by  the  legislature  upon  that  subject. 

On  the  accession  of  Mr.  Buchanan  to  the  presidency,  Mr.  Murphy  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  minister  to  the  Hague.  Identified,  as  he  had 
long  been,  with  the  efforts  made  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the  early  history  of 
our  state,  particularly  that  portion  of  it  which  relates  to  its  first  colonization 
by  Holland,  the  selection  elicited  general  approval.  While  looking  after 
the  interests  of  his  government  in  that  country,  he  found  time  to  communi- 
cate a  series  of  most  interesting  letters  upon  Holland,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  which  were  published  in  the  Brooklyn  Eagle,  and  many  of  them 
extensively  in  other  papers.  They  are  considered  valuable  for  the  great  amount 
of  information  which  they  embody,  touching  the  relations  of  the  Netherlands 
and  their  people  with  our  state.  When  the  rebellion  broke  out,  Mr.  Murphy 
was  still  minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  Netherlands.  It  was  exceed- 
ingly important  at  the  time,  that  the  governments  of  Europe  should  be 
correctly  informed  of  the  precise  facts  of  the  case,  and  of  the  real  relation 
of  the  states  to  the  federal  government,  in  order  that  foreign  powers  might 
readily  see  and  adhere  to  their  well-established  line  of  duty.  Accordingly, 
Minister  Murphy  addressed  to  the  government  of  the  Netherlands,  an 
elaborate  exposition  of  that  relationship,  and  clearly  pointed  out  the  absolute 
supremacy  of  the  general  government  in  all  matters  committed  to  it  by  the 
constitution,  and  the  equally  absolute  rights  of  the  states  over  all  matters 
not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  that  instrument.  He  seized  the 
opportunity  to  show,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  rebellion  owed  its  origin 
chiefly  to  sectional  hate  and  the  ambition  of  the  leaders.  This  paper  was 
printed  at  length  in  the  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  1861  and  1862,  and 
was  highly  praised  by  men  of  all  parties.  Upon  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  he  announced  his  determination  to  uphold  the  national  flag  against 
secession,  and  was  immediately  elected  to  the  senate  of  the  state  as  a  Union 
man.  This  position  he  steadfastly  maintained  during  the  whole  war.  At 
the  state  convention  of  the  democratic  party,  in  1862,  he  was  chosen  tem- 
porary chairman,  and  insisted  that  all  citizens,  without  distinction  of  party, 
should  support  the  administration  in  putting  down  the  rebellion.  In  the 
annual  oration  before  the  Tammany  Society,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  he 
took  no  less  patriotic  ground  in  behalf  of  the  Union.  Indeed,  he  was  no 
less  zealous  in  acts  than  in  words;  for  mainly  by  his  exertions,  the  Third 
Senatorial  Regiment  —  the  159th  New  York  State  Volunteers,  Colonel 
Molineux  —  was  raised,  and  the  bounties  paid  to  the  men,  without  calling 
upon  either  the  state,  city  or  county  authorities  for  that  purpose.  Such,  in 
brief,  is  the  history  of  his  action  in  regard  to  the  rebellion. 


EDSTOB?  OP  BROOKLYN.  269 

Mr.  Murphy  has  been  elected  four  times  to  tho  senate,  for  - 
terms,  ami  is  now  iu  his  eighth  year  of  service  in  that  body.  He  lias  taken 
a  conspicuous  part  in  all  important  debates  and  discussions,  and  particularly 
distinguished  himself  in  his  efforts  to  repeal  the  law  in  regard  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal tenures,  and  to  establish  an  insulated  quarantine  in  the  lower  bay  of  New 
York  — measures  which  he  successfully  carried  through.  He  has  always  been 
in  favor  of  carrying  on  different  internal  improvements  throughout  the  state 
by  state  aid  without  regard  to  the  section  where  they  were  proposed,  provided 
they  contributed  to  the  general  prosperity.  Having  always  been  a  strict 
constructionist.  Mr.  Murphy  voted  against  ratifying  the  amendment  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States  abolishing  slavery,  holding  that,  as  the 
federal  government  is  one  of  delegated  powers  exclusively,  and  as  the 
subject  of  slavery  was  not  embraced  in  the  constitution,  and  was  to  be  dis- 
posed of  only  by  the  states  where  it  existed,  the  power  of  amendment  is 
necessarily  limited  to  the  subjects  embraced  in  the  constitution,  and  does 
not  legitimately  apply  to  that  of  abolishing  slavery. 

In  the  convention  of  1867-8,  which  was  called  to  remodel  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  state,  Mr.  Murphy  was  chosen  a  delegate  from  the  state  at  large 
and  took  his  seat.  He  was  prevented,  however,  from  attending  a  portion  of 
time  occupied  by  that  body  in  its  deliberations  in  consequence  of  sickness, 
but  nevertheless  took  part  in  many  of  the  most  important  discussions. 
Occupying  a  prominent  position  in  the  democratic  party,  he  has  twice  been 
unanimously  its  candidate  for  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  from  the  state  of 
New  York,  but  has  failed  to  be  elected  in  consequence  of  the  ascendancy  of 
the  other  party  in  the  legislature.  His  long  experience  in  public  affairs  and 
his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  interests  of  the  state,  peculiarly  qualify 
him  for  the  position. 

In  debate,  Senator  Murphy  always  speaks  extemporaneously  ;  in  argument, 
he  is  close  and  logical;  in  manner,  earnest  and  apparently  severe;  and, 
when  he  warms  to  his  subject,  history,  precedent  and  analogy  all  seem  to 
rise  unbidden  to  fortify  the  positions  he  assumes.  In  private  character,  he 
possesses,  in  an  eminent  degree,  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  high-toned 
and  honorable  gentleman;  and  no  public  man  has,  probably,  passed  thus  far 
through  the  trying  ordeal  of  a  legislative  career,  so  entirely  free  from  the 
taint  of  corruption.  Though  eminently  a  practical  man,  taking  a  deep  and 
active  interest  in  public  affairs  —  a  man  of  the  people  —  he  is  a  scholar, 
and  a  ripe,  good  one.  To  the  gratification  of  this  taste,  Mr.  Murphy  has  given 
much  of  his  time  and  means.  During  his  travels,  at  home  and  abroad,  he  has 
accumulated  one  of  the  finest  private  libraries  iu  America,  and  possesses  the 
full  power  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  it;  and  however  much  he  may  win  honor 


270  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

and  fame  as  a  public  spirited  citizen,  or  a  successful  political  leader,  his 
claims  as  one  of  the  literati  can  never  be  lost  sight  of,  aud  will  constitute 
for  him  an  enduring  fame.  Mr.  Murphy's  contributions  to  literature  are  of 
a  very  valuable  character,  and  include  a  number  of  translations  from  the 
Dutch  language,  of  which  he  is  a  perfect  master. 

1843.  February  27.  A  memorial  was  presented  to  the  legisla- 
ture, from  the  common  council  of  Brooklyn,  remonstrating  against 
the  passage  of  a  bill  prepared  by  the  common  council  of  New 
York,  to  tax  the  personal  property  of  citizens  of  Brooklyn  doing 
business  in  E~ew  York. 

April  11th.  The  charter  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Sprague,  democrat,  by  three  hundred  and  eleven  votes 
over  David  A.  Bokee,Esq.,  whig. 

Joseph  Sprague,  born  in  Leicester,  Mass.,  July  25th,  1783,  was  the 
son  of  William  Sprague,  and  the  eldest  of  fourteen  children.1  His  father 
was  a  wealthy  farmer,  at  which  occupation  Joseph  was  kept,  with  such 
intervals  as  were  necessary  to  enable  him  to  obtain  an  education,  until  the 
age  of  twenty-one.  At  that  period,  finding  his  strength  unequal  to  this 
calling,  and  desirous  of  some  larger  sphere  of  action,  he  went  to  Boston, 
where  he  became  clerk  in  a  wholesale  store.  After  spending  about  two 
years  in  this  situation,  he  accepted  the  offer  of  some  friends  to  furnish  him 
with  credit,  and  became  a  country  merchant,  "  timorously  struggling,"  as 
he  says  "  from  two  to  three  years,  on  crackers  and  cheese,  avoiding  the  ex- 
pense of  board,"  until  affairs  in  Europe  caused  an  embargo,  and  orders  in 
council  paralyzed  active  business.  Unable  longer  to  keep  up,  he  sold  out, 
paid  his  debts,  and  during  the  few  months  of  leisure,  which  followed,  he 
took  another  spell,  at  Leicester  Academy,  in  the  improvement  of  his  educa- 
tion. Shortly  after,  his  father,  desirous  to  have  him  near  him,  and  partly 
as  a  recompense  for  what  he  considered  his  due  in  suggesting  to  him,  and 
aiding  in  the  very  profitable  business  of  card-making,  in  which  he  was  then 
engaged,  deeded  to  him  a  small  farm  of  forty  acres,  with  house  and  barn. 
One  year's  cultivation,  however,  convinced  young  Sprague  that  farming 
was  not  his  forte,  so  selling  his  farm,  he  invested  the  proceeds  ($700),  in 
wire  cards  for  carding  wool  and  cotton,  with  which,  in  1809,  he  came  to 
New  York,  where  he  immediately  engaged  as  a  school  teacher,  in  the  mean- 
time disposing  of  his  little  stock  of  cards.     Two  years  later,  October,  1811, 


JFor  genealogy  see  Sprague  Genealogy,  and  Washburne's  History  of  Leicester, 
Mass. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  271 

he  married  Maria  De  Bevoise,  belonging  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
honorable  families  of  the  then  village  of  Bedford,  now  within  the  city  limits 
of  Brooklyn.  For  seven  years  subsequently  to  his  marriage,  he  resided 
partly  at  Bedford,  and  partly  at  New  York.  In  1812,  the  war  which  arose 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  increased  the  demand  for 
domestic  manufactures,  and  woolen  cards  rose  to  an  unprecedented  price,  as 
high  even  as  ten  or  twelve  dollarsper  dozen.  At  this  suggestion,  therefore, 
his  father  and  brothers  established  a  card  factory  at  Leicester.  Mass.,  while 
he  managed  the  sales  in  New  York  city,  on  equal  profits.  This  proving  a 
very  profitable  enterprise,  he  left  off  teaching,  and  gave  his  whole  time  and 
attention  to  the  sale  of  American  cotton  and  woolen  goods  on  commission. 
The  declaration  of  peace,  however,  changed  the  aspect  of  business,  and  he 
was  induced  to  invest  his  little  capital  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  trade; 
but  domestics  being  soon  depreciated  by  the  free  importation  of  foreign 
goods  he  sold  out  his  interest  to  his  partner.  After  this,  he  purchased,  at 
auction,  a  valuable  lot  of  card  machinery  at  low  rates,  and,  having  secured  a 
contract  with  a  southern  house,  continued  to  supply  it  with  cards  for  three 
years,  with  much  profit  to  himself. 

In  the  year  1819,  Mr.  Sprague  purchased  a  house  (now  No.  115)  in 
Fulton  street,  Brooklyn.  It  was  then  a  pleasant  country  residence,  sur- 
rounded by  apple  trees,  open  in  front  to  the  East  river,  and  in  the  rear 
on  vacant  lots.  This  house,  in  1854,  was  the  only  one  standing  of  those 
that  then  existed  within  many  blocks  of  it,  except  the  Episcopal  parsonage 
adjoining  St.  Ann's  church  burial  ground.  No  streets  were  opened  above 
Middagh.  westerly  to  Love  lane  which  is  now  closed.  The  only  pavements 
in  town  were  from  Sands  street  to  the  two  ferries.  Only  three  churches,  the 
Dutch,  Episcopal,  and  Methodist,  then  existed.  In  the  year  1S22  Mr. 
Sprague  became  one  of  the  chief  founders  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
of  Brooklyn,1  aided  in  its  erection,  and  afterwards  personally  superintended 
an  extension  of  it,  filling  in  the  sunken  ground,  setting  trees  and  fence 
around  it,  etc. 

In  the  year  1823.  an  effort  (three  previous  ones  having  failed)  was  made 
to  obtain  a  charter  for  the  Long  Island  Bank.  Mr.  Sprague  spent  a  winter 
at  Albany,  where  by  energetic  and  persistent  effort  he  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  passage  of  the  desired  bill  through  the  legislature.  The  day  following, 
also,  a  bill  of  incorporation  of  the  Brooklyn  Fire  Insurance  Company,  passed 
the  same  ordeal,  having  been  much  indebted  to  Mr.  Sprague's  influence. 
Both  of  these  institutions  received  the  hearty  support  of  the  inhabitants  of 

*Tn  Cranberry  street  on  site  now  occupied  by  Plymouth  church. 


272  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Brooklyn,  which  was  indebted  to  them  for  a  new  impetus  to  its  growth  and 
prosperity.  When  subsequently,  through  the  mismanagement  of  a  principal 
officer,  the  company  became  involved,  Mr.  Sprague's  sagacity  discovered  the 
leak  which  had  then  amounted  to  forty-eight  thousand  dollars  and  his  busi- 
ness tact  and  character  redeemed  the  institution  from  ruin,  and  placed  it 
again  upon  a  firm  foundation.  In  1825,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  village,  and  in  May,  1827,  was  chosen  its  president, 
at  a  salary  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  To  this  office  he  was  reelected 
for  four  successive  years,  viz:  1828,  '29,  '30,  '31 ;  when,  worn  down  with  his 
arduous  duties  during  the  memorable  cholera  season  of  1832,  he  was* super- 
seded by  George  Hall.  The  village  at  this  time  comprised  five  districts, 
each  represented  by  two  trustees.  In  1826,  he,  together  with  Col.  Alden 
Spooner,  bought  for  the  sum  of  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  twenty  acres  of  land  since  known  as  Fort  Greene,  which  they 
offered  to  the  town  for  the  site  of  a  poor  house.  It  was  accepted,  a  poor 
house  built  theron,  and  Mr.  Sprague  was  one  of  the  building  committee. 
At  his  suggestion,  also,  five  acres  of  this  ground  was  set  apart  in  town  meet- 
ing, as  a  free  burial  place.  In  April,  1828,  he  proposed  to  the  board  of 
trustees  the  purchase  of  an  ox  and  cart,  with  which  to  remove  the  filth 
and  garbage  from  the  streets  of  the  village.  This,  which  at  first  excited 
much  remark  and  ridicule,  proved  to  be  such  a  public  improvement,  that  a 
second  ox  cart  was  provided,  with  which  the  whole  street  cleaning  of  the 
village  was  performed  from  1828  to  1832,  at  an  annual  expense  of  five  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars,  or  one-half  less  than  it  has  since  cost  to  clean  (?) 
the  streets  of  a  single  ward.  The  manure  thus  obtained  proved  to  be  more 
than  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  cleaning,  and  the  whole  was  done  under 
the  personal  supervision  of  this  indefatigable  public  magistrate.  Indeed, 
President  Sprague  seemed  to  be  actuated  solely  by  the  determination  not  to 
allow  the  expense  of  any  department  of  the  government  to  exceed  an  econo- 
mical appropriation;  and  in  carrying  out  this  idea,  he  often  found  himself 
obliged  to  multiply  vetoes,  which  in  turn  provoked  much  censure  and  opposi- 
tion. It  is  a  fact  honorable  to  Mr.  Sprague,  that  for  these  many  years,  while 
his  days  were  freely  given  up  to  the  public  interest  in  the  performance  of 
his  official  duties,  his  own  work  in  attending  to  the  business  of  his  factory, 
was  performed  at  night. 

In  April,  1833,  he  was  the  means  of  procuring  a  city  charter  for  Brooklyn, 
and  in  1834,  became  the  first  president  of  the  Long  Island  Insurance  Com- 
pany, which  office  he  held  for  ten  years,  during  a  part  of  which  he  carried 
on  his  card  factory.  During  his  presidency  of  this  institution,  politics  and 
speculation  ran  high,  and  he  found  himself  obliged  to  contend  persistently 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN".  273 

•gainst  the  making  of  loans  on  property,  then  rated  far  above  its  normal 
value,  for  which  action  he  was  often  soundly  berated.  But  the  financial 
trash  of  '37,  proved  his  sagacity,  inasmuch  as  through  his  foresight  and 
caution,  the  capital  of  the  company  ($200,000)  was  saved  entire.  In  183-4, 
the  Brooklyn  Bank  went  into  operation,  but  received  a  severe  blow  in  the 
dishonesty  of  its  first  teller.  It  was,  however,  upheld  by  the  exertions  of 
several  individuals,  among  whom  Mr.  Sprague  was  conspicuous. 

In  1843,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  by  a  democratic 
majority  of  311  votes,  and  was  reelected,  in  184-4,  by  a  majority  of  417 
over  George  Hall,  the  temperance  candidate,  and  by  a  majority  of  791  over 
Hon.  William  Rockwell  (whig),  late  judge  of  the  supreme  court.  During 
his  first  term  of  the  mayoralty,  the  whig  members  of  the  common  council 
refused  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  board,  whereupon  Mayor  Sprague  had 
them  arrested  upon  the  charge  of  misdemeanor  in  the  neglect  of  public  busi- 
ness, and  compelled  their  obedience.  In  1848,  he  was  distinguished  as  one  of 
the  foremost  advocates  for  the  opening  of  Washington  Park  on  Fort  Greene. 
He  was  repeatedly  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  where  he  occupied 
a  seat  as  late  as  1851,  and  where  he  always  commanded  a  large  amount  of 
influence.  He  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  efficient  members  of  the  board 
of  consolidation  which  perfected  the  plan  of  union  between  Brooklyn,  Wil- 
liamsburgh  and  Bushwick.  He,  was  also,  chairman  of  the  police  committee 
in  that  body,  and  drew  up  a  plan  for  remodelling  the  police  department, 
which  failed,  however,  to  meet  the  sanction  of  the  legislature.  He  was,  also, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Mechanics  Bank,  and  a 
member  of  Hohenlinden  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  having  been 
for  many  years  grand  treasurer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Thus,  rendered  independent  by  the  industry  and  thrift  of  his  earlier  years, 
crowned  with  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  occupied  in  the  duties  of 
those  many  offices  of  trust  and  honor  which  they  had  conferred  upon  him,  he 
passed  pleasantly  and  gently  down  the  vale  of  years.  His  time  and  talents 
were  ever  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  the  city  of  his  adop- 
tion, and,  in  regard  to  all  of  these,  whether  it  was  the  reduction  of  taxes,  ferry 
rights,  education,  or  any  useful  scheme  of  public  economy,  of  benevolence,  he 
was  ever  ready  to  speak  publicly,  to  write  fearlessly,  and  to  labor  earnestly. 

In  politics,  he  was  a  leader  in  the  Tompkins  and  Jackson  school  of  demo- 
cracy, yet  he  never  allowed  his  conscience  to  become  subservient  to  the  claims 
of  party.  In  private  business  relations  his  integrity  was  above  all  suspicion, 
while  in  his  public  duties  he  was  rigidly  honest,  evincing  a  firm  determina- 
tion to  have  every  department  of  the  municipal  government  carried  out  with 
efficiency  and  economy. 

35 


274  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

As  a  Christian  he  was  a  most  sincere  believer  in  the  truth  and  mercy  of 
God,  and  a  humble  and  conscientious  follower  of  his  word,  as  was  evidenced 
not  less  by  his  life,  than  by  his  journals,  and  especially  by  a  copy  of  the 
Bible,  his  companion  for  more  than  twenty  years,  whose  pages  were  marked 
at  many  of  their  choicest  passages. 

In  short,  both  in  public  and  private  life,  few  men  were  ever  more  highly 
esteemed,  or  in  death  more  honored  and  lamented  than  Joseph  Sprague. 
Life  closed  to  him  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  December,  1854,  in  the 
seventy-second  year  of  his  age.  The  encomiums  of  the  press,  the  transactions 
of  public  bodies,  the  flags  displayed  at  half-mast,  the  large  attendance  at  his 
funeral,  including  all  the  members  of  the  different  branches  of  the  city 
government,  and  the  universal  expression  of  sorrow,  which  was  heard  on 
every  hand,  testified  to  the  respect  which  was  felt  for  his  public  services,  and 
his  eminent  personal  character. 

June.  On  the  13th  of  this  month  President  Tyler  visited  the 
city,  and,  on  the  22d,  the  Universalist  church  on  Pierrepont  street 
was  dedicated. 

July  21st.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Pierrepont  street  Baptist 
church  was  this  day  laid. 

September  9th.  The  Brooklyn  City  Guards  made  their  first 
parade,  in  fatigue  dress;  on  the  12th,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new 
Methodist  church  in  Sand  street,  near  Fulton,  was  laid;  and,  during 
this  month,  also,  a  line  of  omnibuses  was  established  between 
Fulton  Ferry  and  East  Brooklyn. 

November  11th. '  The  Brooklyn  Daily  News,  edited  by  John  S. 
Noble,  was  discontinued. 

From  a  report  made  to  the  common  council  on  the  eighth  of 
January,  1844,  we  learn  that  the  whole  number  of  buildings 
erected,  or  in  progress  of  erection,  during  the  year  1843,  were  as 
follows  : 


Wards. 
First 
Second  - 

Erected. 

-    17 
22 

In  Progress. 

68 
26 

Wards.                Erected. 
Eighth     -          -       9 
Ninth  -         -         24 

In  Progress. 
2 

2 

Third 

-     24 

54 





Fourth  - 

31 

8 

Total           308 

262 

Fifth 

-     31 

13 

308 

Sixth     - 

62 

55 



Seventh 

88 

34 

Aggregate  Total 

570 

HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  275 

These  buildings  were  chiefly  of  brick,  and  seventv-liw  were 
with  stores.  Fourteen  were  in  the  place  of  buildings  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  four  were  church  edifices. 

1844.  The  funeral  of  William  Voris,  late  president  of  the  Brook- 
lyn fire  department,  on  the  18th  of  March,  was  the  largest  and  most 
imposing  public  demonstration  since  the  famous  interment  of  the 
bones  of  the  martyrs,  in  1808.  The  Association  for  Improving  the 
Condition  of  the  Poor,  was  established  on  the  26th,  and  the  Pierrepont 
street  Baptist  church  was  dedicated,  on  the  28th  of  this  month. 

April  4th.  Was  rendered  memorable  by  a  riot  between  the 
native  Americans  and  the  Irish  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dean  and 
Court  and  WyckofT  streets.  The  disturbance  was  finally  quelled, 
but  two  companies  of  uniformed  militia  were  kept  under  arms 
during  the  night,  and  the  public  feeling  continued  in  an  excited 
state  for  some  time  thereafter. 

April  9th.  At  the  charter  election,  Mr.  Joseph  Sprague  was  re- 
elected mayor,  by  a  majority  of  seven  hundred  and  ninety-one  over 
William  Rockwell,  democrat,  and  of  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  over  George  Hall,  temperance  candidate. 

May  24th.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Long  Island  Bail  Boad  tunnel 
in  Atlantic  street,  was  laid,  and  the  tunnel  was  opened  for  travel  on 
3d  of  December  following.  The  (Unitarian)  Church  of  the  Savior, 
in  Pierrepont  street,  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of  April,  and  the 
Rev.  F.  A.  Farley  installed  pastor;  on  the  16th  of  June,  congress 
passed  a  law  directing  the  construction  of  a  stone  dry-dock  at  the 
Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  a  measure  which  was  largely  due  to  the 
persistent  efforts  of  Senator  Henry  C.  Murphy,  of  Brooklyn.  The 
corner  stone  of  the  Church  of  the  Pilgrims  (Congregational)  corner 
of  Henry  and  Remsen  streets,  was  laid  on  the  3d  of  July  ;  and  on 
the  18th  of  September,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Second  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  Navy  street,  was  laid. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  (Episcopal) ;  the  Eighth,  and  the 
Pacific  Street  Methodist  Episcopal,  the  Ashbury  (colored)  Methodist 
Episcopal,  and  the  Mariner's  Union  Bethel  Church,  were  this  year 
founded. 

In  May.  The  Brooklyn  Protestant  Benevolent  and  Library  Associa- 
tion was  organized  and  Laborers'  Union  Beneficial  Society. 


276  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1845.  The  ferry  question,  and  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
City  Hospital,  were,  at  this  time,  the  leading  topics  of  interest 
and  public  discussion  among  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn ;  resulting, 
in  the  passage  of  an  act  (May  14),  vesting  the  power  of  granting 
leases  in  an  independent  board  of.  commissioners;  and  the  incor- 
poration (May  8th),  of  the  Brooklyn  City  Hospital. 

April  8.  The  charter  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Thos. 
G.  Talmadge,  democrat,  for  mayor,  by  a  majority  of  1,492  votes 
over  George  Hall,  whig. 

Thomas  Goin  Talmadge  (for  whose  genealogy  we  refer  to  Thompson's 
History  of  Long  Island,  vol.  II,  p.  461),  was  born  in  Somerset,  N.  J.,  on 
the  22d  of  October,  1801.  In  1819,  he  came  to  New  York  city,  where  he 
became  a  clerk  in  the  mercantile  establishment  of  Mr.  Abraham  Van  Nest, 
and  from  1823  to  1836  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business.  In 
1823,  he  married  Miss  Miller  of  Morris  county,  N.  J.,  a  sister  of  Hon. 
Jacob  W.  Miller,  United  States  senator  from  New  York ;  she  died  in  the 
year  1834,  and  in  1835,  he  married  a  second  wife,  a  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Van  Brunt,  of  Brooklyn.  In  1836,  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  supporters 
of  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  was  elected  a  representative  from  New  York 
city,  in  the  state  legislature.  From  1838  to  1839,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
New  York  common  council,  and  at  one  time,  president  of  the  board  of 
aldermen  of  that  city.  In  1840,  he  became  a  citizen  of  Brooklyn,  and  at 
once  took  a  prominent  position  in  public  life ;  from  1842  to  1843  representing 
the  8th  Ward;  and  from  1 844  to  1845,  the  6th  Ward,  in  the  board  of  aldermen 
of  that  city.  From  1845  to  1846,  he  was  (democratic),  mayor  of  Brooklyn, 
and,  in  1846,  was  appointed  judge  of  the  county  court,  by  Gov.  Silas 
Wright.  In  1848  (his  second  wife  having  died  in  1843),  he  married  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Judge  Teunis  Joralemon  of  Brooklyn.  In  1845,  he 
was  appointed  by  Gov.  Bouck,  and  without  his  previous  knowledge,  as 
Loan  Commissioner  of  the  United  States  Deposit  Fund,  for  Kings  county,  and, 
in  1858,  became  the  president  of  the  Broadway  Rail  Road  Company,  of 
Brooklyn.     He  was,  also,  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

During  Mr.  Talmadge's  mayoralty,  the  new  City  Hall  was  erected,  and 
the  8th  Ward  (Gowanus),  to  which  he  removed  after  his  third  marriage,  is 
much  indebted  to  his  enterprise  in  developing  its  progress  and  growth  — 
the  Third  avenue  being  the  first  one  opened,  about  1840,  along  the  bay, 
and  the  second  one  being  the  Fifth  avenue ;  both  of  which  passed  through 
the  Van  Brunt  and  Talmadge  farms.  Buildings  soon  commenced  on  that 
vicinity,  and  its  subsequent  growth  was  rapid. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  277 

Mr.  Talmadge   was  a  politician  of  the  old  school,  and  was  consequently  a 

little  out  of  date  with  the  politicians  of  the  present  era.  Latterly  he  affiliated 
with  the  national  wing  of  the  democratic  party,  and  was  chairman  of  the 
national  general  committee.  Upright  and  sincere  in  all  his  dealings  j 
dignified  and  courteous  in  his  bearing,  he  won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

M.  Talmadge  died  May  4th.  18G3. 

July  1st.  On  this  day,  a  line  of  omnibuses  between  Fulton 
and  South  ferries  was  established  by  George  Van  Brunt. 

October  24th.  A  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  and 
Williamsburgh  was  this  day  held,  at  which  was  proposed  the  union 
of  the  tico  cities,  as  one. 

November  4th.  The  common  council,  in  secret  session,  dis- 
cussed the  advisability  of  erecting  a  City  Hall. 

The  Long  Island  Bank  was  this  year  incorporated,  and  also  the 
Brooklyn  Benevolent  Society  (Roman  Catholic)  instituted  to  carry  out 
the  benevolent  designs  of  the  venerable  Cornelius  Heeney,  Esq. 

The  Atlantic  White  Lead  Company,  St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic 
and  the  German  Evangelical  church  were  founded  this  year. 

1846.  April  14.  The  charter  election  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Francis  B.  Stryker,  whig,  as  mayor,  by  a  majority  of  1150  votes 
over  Thomas  G.  Talmadge,  democrat. 

Francis  Burdett  Stryker,  son  of  Burdett  Stryker  (so  named  after 
the  English  radical,  Francis  Burdett),  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  December 
11th,  1811.  and  received  such  education  as  the  times  afforded,  partly  at  the 
primary  department  of  Erasmus  Hall,  at  Flatbush,  and  partly  at  the  hands 
of  other  teachers  in  his  native  village.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  shortly  after  his 
father's  death,  he  became  an  apprentice  to  Jeremiah  Wells,  carpenter,  doing 
business  in  Poplar,  between  Henry  and  Hicks  streets,  and  who  was,  also,  at 
that  time  the  chief  engineer  of  the  village  fire  department.  Having  served 
his  time,  he  continued  to  work  at  his  trade  as  a  journeyman  until  1838, 
when  he  was  elected  one  of  the  three  tax  collectors  of  the  city.  Haviug 
discharged  these  duties,  he  commenced  April,  1839,  working  at  his  trade 
for  his  brother  Burdett;  uutil,  in  1840,  he  was  chosen  sheriff  (on  the  whig 
ticket),  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  three  years,  returning  then  to  his 
trade  in  his  brother's  employ.  While  thus  working  as  journeyman,  at 
twelve  shillings  per  day,  he  was  much  surprised  in  the  spring  of  1846,  at 
receiving  the  whig  nomination  for  mayor,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  over 


278  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  then  incumbent  (T.  G.  Talmadge),  and  reelected  the  next  year,  1847, 
(against  Thos.  J.  Gerald),  and  the  year  following,  1848  (against  Win. 
Jenkins).  During  the  first  term  of  his  mayoralty,  the  only  noticeable  event 
was  the  purchase  and  erection  of  Washington  Park  (Fort  Greene),  as  a 
public  park.  In  January,  1847,  the  ship  fever  broke  out  in  Hudson 
avenue,  near  Tillary,  having  been  imported  by  a  ship  load  of  Irish  emigrants, 
and  continued  to  rage  in  that  and  other  localities,  in  the  1st,  2d,  5th  and  6th 
wards,  during  1847  and  '48.  Though  the  mayor  and  the  board  of  aldermen, 
at  this  time,  constituted  the  board  of  health,  Mr  Stryker  did  not  call  them 
together  officially  to  act  upon  the  matter,  not  deeming  it  best  to  arouse  any 
alarm  in  the  public  mind,  or  to  raise  any  questions  as  to  the  legal  propriety 
of  making  appropriations  for  the  sick.  Calling  into  practice  the  lessons  of 
active  practical  benevolence,  which  he  had  learned  under  the  tutelage  of 
his  -father  in  the  earlier  epidemics  which  visited  the  village,  he  took 
upon  himself  the  burden  of  personal  visitation,  superintendence  and  relief 
of  the  sick  and  dying.  Unsupported  by  the  medical  faculty,  who  indeed 
dissuaded  him  from  exposing  himself  to  contagion,  Mr.  Stryker,  during  the 
long  continuance  of  this  epidemic,  unremittingly  visited  the  sick,  watched 
with  them,  cared  for  them,  defrayed  all  expenses  from  his  own  pocket,  so 
that  no  costs  accrued  to  the  city,  and  aided  only  by  voluntary  exertions  of 
William  Hewitt  (then  one  of  the  street  inspectors),  and  Staats  Dawson 
(mayor's  marshal),  carried  on  in  his  own  person  all  the  functions  of  a 
health  board.  In  the  cholera  season  of  1849,  during  the  term  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Mayor  Copeland,  Mr.  Stryker  devoted  himself  largely  to  the  relief 
of  the  sick,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was  elected  county  clerk  (on  the 
whig  ticket),  which  office  he  held  for  a  three  year  term.  In  1860,  he  re- 
ceived from  the  commissioners,  the  position  of  superintendent  of  sewers, 
which  office  he  still  holds. 

June  24th.  The  Atlantic  white  lead  works,  corner  of  Columbia 
and  Harrison  streets,  were  destroyed  by  fire. 

August  19th.  An  alarm  bell,  designed  for  the  new  City  Hall, 
was  raised  to  a  temporary  belfry,  at  the  head  of  Fulton  street. 

The  Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  corner  of  Henry  and  Remsen  streets, 
was  dedicated  on  the  12th  of  April;  the  corner-stone  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  Henry  street,  was  laid  on  the  28th  of  July, 
and  that  of  the  Church  of  St.  James  (Catholic)  in  Jay  street, 
was  dedicated  on  the  20th  of  September,  and  the  Middle  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  was  founded. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  279 

During  this  summer,  also,  the  suhject  of  an  Episcopal  D< 
of  Long  Island  was  considerably  agitated  in  the  papers  of  the  day, 
ami  among  the  members  of  that  denomination. 

December  29th.  The  New  England  Society  of  Brooklyn  was 
organized. 

1847.  April  13.  Francis  B.  Striker,  whig,  was  chosen  mayor, 
by  a  majority  of  1,540  votes  over  Thomas  J.  Gerald,  democrat. 
On  the  27th,  an  act  passed  the  legislature,  authorizing  the  opening 
of  Fort  Greene  as  a  public  park,  which  evoked  much  feeling  and 
public  opposition. 

May  10th.  A  bill  passed  the  legislature  of  the  state  authorizing 
the  calling  of  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  new 
charter  for  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

May  11th.  All  the  public  buildings,  and  a  large  number  of 
private  residences  were  brilliantly  illuminated  in  honor  of  the 
recent  victories  of  the  American  army  in  Mexico. 

May  12th.  The  corner-stone  of  the  United  States  dry  dock  at 
the  Brooklyn  !Navy  Yard,  was  laid  by  Commodore  Smith,  U.  S.  N. 

Meetings  were  also  held  this  year,  having  for  their  object  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  monument  over  the  bones  of  the  martyrs  of 
the  prison  ships. 

The  Emmet  Benevolent  Society  was  organized  this  year,  and 
chartered  in  May,  1849. 

The  churches  this  year  founded  were  the  Central,  East  Brooklyn 
and  Concord  Street  (colored)  Baptist ;  the  Plymouth  and  Clinton 
Avenue,  Congregational;  Grace  Church  Protestant  Episcopal,  on 
Brooklyn  Heights;  the  Union,  and  First  Bethel  (colored)  Methodist; 
the  Central  and  Siloam  (colored)  Presbyterian ;  and  the  St.  John's 
German  Lutheran  Church. 

1848.  March  27th.  Gas  was  for  the  first  time  introduced  into 
Brooklyn. 

June  6th.  Montague  Hall,  situated  on  the  corner  of  Court  and 
Montague  streets,  and  built  by  Geo.  Howland,  Esq.,  at  a  cost  of 
some  822,000,  was  opened  to  the  public.  It  was  chiefly  designed  for 
the  accommodation  of  public  and  private  offices,  and  its  principal 
feature  was  a  large  and  elegant  assembly  room,  for  suppers,  balls, 
etc. 


280  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

July  4th,  was  rendered  memorable  in  the  annals  of  Brook- 
lyn, by  the  munificence  of  its  venerable  and  worthy  citizen, 
Augustus  Graham.  The  Brooklyn  City  Hospital,  sorely  crippled 
by  lack  of  means,  and  struggling  wearily  against  the  apathy  of 
the  public,  was  unexpectedly  placed  upon  a  permanent  foundation, 
by  a  donation  from  Mr.  Graham,  of  bonds  and  mortgages 
amounting  to  $25,000 ;  and  the  Brooklyn  Institute  was  endowed 
with  the  ownership  of  the  elegant  granite  building,  in  Washing- 
ton street,  which  had  been  originally  erected  for  the  Brooklyn 
Lyceum. 

August  8.  The  Cypress  Hills  Cemetery  was  incorporated  under 
the  general  cemetery  act. 

During  this  year,  the  St.  Nicholas  Society  of  Nassau  Island ;  the 
St.  Michael's  Episcopal  church ;  First  Congregational  Methodist ; 
First  Reformed  Presbyterian  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  parish  of 
St.  Peter's  were  organized. 

The  principal  event  of  the  year,  however,  was  the  disastrous 
conflagration  of  Saturday,  the  9th  of  September,  still  remembered 
and  spoken  of  among  our  citizens,  as  the  great  fire  of  Brooklyn. 
We  extract  the  following  account  from  the  columns  of  the  Fagle, 
of  the  11th  inst. : 

The  fire  broke  out  about  11 J  p.  m.,  in  the  upholstery  and  furniture  store 
of  George  Drew,  at  No  122  Fulton  street  bend,  nearly  opposite  to  Sands 
street.  This  was  a  wooden  building,  and  surrounded  by  a  nest  of  other 
wooden  buildings,  which  extended  through  to  Henry  street,  and,  indeed, 
covered  the  whole  block.  In  consequence  of  the  long  drought,  these  build- 
ings were  all  as  dry  as  tinder,  and  hence  the  flame  was  beyond  all  control, 
before  the  alarm  brought  the  firemen  to  the  spot.  It  spread  with  the  most 
fearful  rapidity,  and  the  whole  block  was  soon  one  vast  sea  of  flame.  The 
wind  was  fresh  from  the  north-west,  and  drove  the  heat  over  to  the  other 
side  of  Fulton  street,  and  the  drug  store  of  William  Bailey  caught  fire 
several  times,  but  was  extinguished  by  the  firemen.  The  fire  finally  crossed 
a  little  above,  and  caught  in  the  building  occupied  by  Mrs.  Hall,  leecher 
and  cupper.  From  this  it  spread  rapidly  among  the  wooden  buildings  on 
that  side,  being  driven  forward  by  the  wind  south,  along  Fulton  street,  and 
east  along  Sands  street  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Methodist  church.  The  flames 
had  now  taken  a  wide  sweep,  and  stretched  towards  the  south-east,  from 
Henry  street  almost  to  "Washington  street,  overleaping  the  boundaries  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


L.N1 


streets  in  defiance  of  all  efforts.  At  four  and  five  o'clock  the  scene  was  awful 
beyond  description.  The  fire  had  already  swept  over  the  greatest  portion  of 
the  area;  the  firemen  were  without  water;  the  streets  on  the  outer  border 
of  the  fire  were  lumbered  with  goods,  which  had  been  removed  from  tin: 
buildings  already  burnt,  or  in  flames;  women  and  children  were  engaged  in 
tarrying  furniture  from  place  to  place,  and  in  watching  over  the  family 
goods  ;  firemen  were  running  from  point  to  point,  and  laboring  with  all  the 
devotion  of  men  engaged  in  a  desperate  enterprise;  and  the  flames,  unfet- 
tered by  every  effort,  threatened  to  overrun  and  devour  the  whole  city. 

The  fire  working  from  the  point  of 
commencement  forward  and  outwards, 
had  made  its  way  to  Henry  street  and 
along  Henry  street  to  Orange  street, 
on  that  side.  On  the  other  side,  it  had 
spread  along  Sands  street,  destroyed 
the  Methodist  church,  the  Sunday 
School  building,  the  parsonage,  and  had 
extended  forward  through  High  and 
Nassau  streets,  prostrating  in  its  course 
the  large  Baptist  church,  and  some  of 
the  most  substantial  buildings  in  the 
city.  Carey's  buildings  and  the  Uni- 
versalist  church  on  Fulton  street  were 
on  fire,  and  all  along  Concord  street, 
the  heat  was  terrific.     It  seemed  that 

nothing  could  stay  the  devouring  element  from  crossing  to  the  other  side,  in 
which  case  the  large  block  to  Tillary  street,  and  perhaps  all  that  part  of  the 
city,  must  inevitably  have  fallen  a  sacrifice. 

It  was  now  that  the  plan  of  blowing  up  several  buildings  was  suggested, 
and  fortunately  this  last  resort  proved  successful.  The  fire  was  stopped  at 
Concord  street,  though  the  buildings  on  the  south  side  were  often  on  fire. 
The  church  of  Mr.  Jacobus,  which  stands  back  from  the  street,  assisted  in 
checking  its  progress  in  that  quarter,  and,  though  in  great  danger,  was  pre- 
served without  damage.  In  Orange  street,  its  progress  toward  Henry  street 
was  materially  checked  by  the  double  wall  made  by  the  erection  of  Carey's 
buildings.  On  Washington  street,  the  row  of  brick  buildings  stretching 
between  Concord  and  Nassau  streets  was  on  fire  and  much  burnt,  but  the 
greater  part  will  not  probably  require  to  be  rebuilt.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  row  of  brick  buildings  beyond  the  Methodist  Church  on  Sands  street. 
The  wooden  buildings  were  demolished  by  the  firemen. 


Map  of  Burned  District,  1848. 


282  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  great  extent  of  the  fire  is  to  be  attributed  entirely  to  the  want  of 
water.  Our  firemen  soon  drained  the  cisterns,  and  had  no  further  resources, 
They  were  aided  in  their  labors  by  twenty  or  more  engines  from  New  York, 
and  thousands  of  willing  hands  were  rendered  useless  by  the  deficiency  of 
water.  The  Baptist  Church  in  Nassau  street,  was,  we  believe,  insured  in 
the  Brooklyn  offices  for  $12,000,  which  will  probably  cover  the  loss,  or 
nearly  so.  The  Methodist  church  in  Sands  street,  the  parsonage,  and  Sun- 
day School  building,  fronting  on  High  street,  were  all  insured. 

Mr.  William  H.  Carey  was  by  far  the  largest  individual  loser  by  this  fire. 
Twenty-six  houses  belonging  to  him,  including  the  beautiful  range  of  un- 
finished stores,  called  the  Washington  and  Franklin  stores,  and  the  Franklin 
building  on  the  corner  of  Orange  and  Fulton  streets,  were  destroyed.  Their 
total  valuation  was  $50,000,  and  they  were  insured  for  about  half  of  their 
value.     Ex-Mayor  George  Hall  was  also  a  considerable  loser  by  the  fire. 

Three  church  edifices,  the  First  Universalist,  Baptist  and  the  Sands  street 
Methodist  Episcopal ;  two  newspaper  offices,  the  Brooklyn  Star  and  the 
Brooklyn  Freeman;  and  the  post  office  building  (a  portion  of  the  mails 
being  saved),  were  also  burned  in  this  great  conflagration,  which  devastated 
a  thickly  settled  part  of  the  city,  of  several  acres  in  extent,  and  destroyed 
property  to  the  amount  of  one  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars. 

Particular  mention  is  also  made  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day  of  Capt. 
Joshua  Sands  of  the  United  States  navy,  who,  with  a  body  of  marines 
from  the  flag  ship  North  Carolina,  rendered  most  efficient  aid,  especially  in 
blowing  up  several  buildings,  by  which  the  course  of  the  flames  was  finally 
checked.  The  City  Guard,  Union  Blues  and  Columbian  Rifles,  voluntary 
military  organizations  of  Brooklyn,  performed  police  duty  in  guarding  pro- 
perty, and  in  the  preservation  of  order. 

Serious  as  was  trie  calamity,  which  thus  befell  this  young  and 
growing  city,  it  afforded  but  another  opportunity  of  showing  to 
the  world,  that  peculiar  elasticity  of  the  American  mind  and 
character,  which  not  only  leads  to  the  inception  of  great  under- 
takings, but  enables  it  to  surmount  all  obstacles  and  every  disaster. 
Scarcely  had  the  ruins  ceased  to  smoke,  before  the  burned  district 
became  the  scene  of  the  busiest  activity.  New  buildings  were 
erected.  Fulton  street  was  widened  by  setting  back  the  building 
line  on  the  west  side  from  Henry  to  Middagh  streets,  and  on  the 
east  side  from  Sands  to  Concord  streets,  and  in  every  direction 
were  seen  the  well  directed  labors  of  citizens  to  regain  their  losses. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  283 

In  November  of  this  year,  the  idea  of  a  union  between  tin  two 
cities  of  Williamsburgh  and  Brooklyn,  appears  to  have  been,  for  the 
first  time,  broached.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  former 
place  was  held,  at  which  the  subject  was  discussed;  but,  aside 
from  some  newspaper  sparring,  it  seems  to  have  been  unproduc- 
tive of  result. 

The  benefits  accruing  to  that  portion  of  the  city,  known  as 
South  Brooklyn,  from  the  erection  of  the  Atlantic  docks,  began 
to  make  themselves  apparent,  in  the  rapid  progress,  and  increase  of 
population  in  that  vicinity.  In  March,  1848,  Mr.  Daniel  Richards, 
the  originator  of  that  magnificent  enterprise,  petitioned  the  com- 
mon council  for  permission  to  open  thirty-five  streets  in  its 
immediate  vicinity.  During  this  year  and  the  next,  a  plan  was 
also  devised  by  Mr.  Richards  and  others,  and  received  the  legisla- 
tive approbation,  for  the  construction  of  a  large  navigable  canal, 
from  Gowanus  bay  to  Douglass  street,  through  the  centre  of  the 
meadows,  into  which  the  sewers  from  the  elevated  ground  on 
either  side  should  empty.  This  canal  was  to  be  five  feet  deep 
below  water  mark,  four  feet  above  high  water  mark :  100  feet  in 
width  and  5,400  feet  or  about  a  mile  in  length,  draining  some 
1,700  acres  of  land  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city. 

The  great  object  to  be  attained  by  this  improvement  was  the 
removal  of  the  marsh  miasma,  which  hangs  about  Prospect  hill, 
and  other  portions  of  the  city,  making  them  liable  to  intermittent 
fevers  and  other  diseases,  and  thus  shutting  them  out  from  im- 
provement :  also  to  lay  the  lands  open  to  use,  and  to  render  that 
portion  of  the  city  valuable  for  commercial  and  mechanical  pur- 
poses. The  estimated  expense  of  this  canal  was  §78,600,  and  at 
its  termination  it  was  proposed  to  construct  a  large  basin  for 
vessels,  costing  §8,000  additional.  Other  basins,  along  the  course 
of  the  canal,  were  to  be  erected  by  private  enterprise,  furnish- 
ing large  and  ample  depots  for  timber,  coal,  lime,  cement, 
brick,  etc. 

These  liberal  provisions  and  plans  so  stimulated  the  growth  of 
Brooklyn,  that  during  1848  and  '49,  it  was  estimated  that  no  less 
than  2,100  buildings  had  been  erected,  700  of  which  were  in  the 
Sixth  ward,  or  South  Brooklyn. 


284  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1849.  January  9th.  The  charter  convention,  which  had  com- 
menced its  labor  in  July,  1847,  closed  its  sessions. 

April.     Edward  Copeland  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city. 

Edward  Copeland  commenced  business  in  life,  in  Brooklyn,  as  a  retail 
grocer,  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Main  streets.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Columbia  College,  and  was  first  introduced  to  public  notice  by  his  efforts  and 
speeches  in  aid  of  the  Greek  and  Polish  revolutions,  in  the  years  1828 
and  '30.  He  became  a  member  of  the  village  board  of  trustees,  in  1832, 
and  established  so  fair  a  reputation  as  to  induce  his  fellow  citizens  to  tender 
to  him  the  presidency  of  the  village,  in  1833  ;  and  a  nomination  to  congress, 
in  1834,  which,  however,  he  declined,  although  strongly  solicited  by  many 
prominent  citizens  to  accept.  In  1844,  he  was  elected  city  clerk,  without 
solicitation  on  his  part,  and  by  the  special  request  of  the  whig  and  native 
American  members  of  the  common  council.  He  carried  into  this  office  his 
usual  systematic  method,  as  well  as  politeness  and  suavity  of  manner,  and 
was  reelected  to  the  same  position  in  1847  and  '48.  In  the  mayoralty  to 
which  he  was  called  in  1849,  he  carried -the  same  urbanity,  dignity,  decision 
and  careful  attention  to  the  details  of  official  business.  As  a  scholar,  especially 
in  polite  literature,  few  in  our  city  surpassed  him  in  varied  acquirements. 
Through  his  official  papers  and  in  his  frequent  contributions  to  literature 
and  science,  he  fully  sustained  this  reputation ;  while  he  was  a  most  pleasing 
speaker,  polished  and  winning  in  manner,  of  an  eminently  social  disposition, 
liberal,  accessible  at  all  times  and  by  all  persons ;  and  in  habits,  refined  and 
unostentatious.  As  chairman  of  the  whig  general  committee,  he  was  largely 
instrumental  in  contributing  to  the  success  of  1837,  '38,  '39  and  '40  j  and, 
as  a  judge  of  the  municipal  court,  from  1839  to  1840,  aided  by  such  men  as 
Judges  Eames  and  Rushmore,  he  gave  to  that  tribunal  a  degree  of  force 
and  dignity,  which  made  it  everywhere  respected.  He  was,  for  many  years, 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  aiding  powerfully  by  his  efforts  and 
influence  to  give  character  and  efficiency  to  the  system  of  public  instruction, 
and  to  establish  the  reputation  of  the  board. 

May  22d.  A  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Brooklyn  bar 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Law  Library. 

July  4th.  Corner-stone  of  the  United  States  dry  dock  was 
laid.  11th.  Father  Matthew,  the  great  apostle  of  temperance,  was 
received  by  the  mayor  and  common  council  of  Brooklyn,  and  re- 
mained in  the  city  for  a  short  while,  actively  pursuing  his  benevo- 
lent labors. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  285 

The  idea  of  connecting  Brooklyn  with  New  York  by  means  of 
I  bridge,  was  not  only  broached,  but  seriously  discussed  in  public, 
and  in  the  New  York  papers.  The  Tribune  thus  expressed  itself, 
"The  bridge  is  the  great  event  of  the  day.  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  must  be  united,  and  there  is  no  other  means  of  doing 
it.  The  thing  will  certainly  be  achieved  one  of  these  days,  and 
the  sooner  the  better."  Among  other  plans,  was  one  of  a  floating 
bridge,  with  draw,  etc. 

December  30th.  The  Catholic  church  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
in  Sydney  Place  (a  building  formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  Dr. 
Vinton's  Episcopal  church),  was  dedicated. 

This  year,  also,  the  Cemetery  of  the  Evergreens,  was  organized 
and  incorporated,  and  the  Zion  African  Methodist,  St.  Paul's  and 
St.  Peter  s  Episcopal,  Pacific  street  Congregational  and  Strong  Place 
Baptist  churches  were  established. 

The  principal  event  of  this  year  was  the  visitation  of  that 
dreadful  scourge  of  the  human  race,  the  epidemic  cholera.  It 
appeared  in  Brooklyn  on  the  29th  of  May,  1849,  from  which  time 
it  prevailed  here  until  the  22d  of  September.  During  this  period 
there  were  642  deaths,1  being  in  a  ratio  to  the  population  (100,000), 
of  one  in  every  155  persons.2  Of  these  deaths  495  were  adults, 
and  147  children  ;  the  larger  relative  mortality  among  the  latter 
(being  one  to  every  three  of  the  former),  forming  a  distinctive 
characteristic  of  the  epidemic  in  this  city.  The  sexes  seem  to 
have  suffered  equally,  being  321  males  and  321  females.  Of  these 
deaths,  19  were  of  colored  persons,  and  as  regards  their  nation- 
ality, 75  were  natives  of  the  United  States,  while  420  were 
foreigners,  chiefly  Irish  and  Germans,  and  36  were  from  England, 
Scotland  and  France.  The  oldest  victim  was  a  colored  woman 
aged  90  years,  and  the  youngest  an  infant,  one  day  old,  who  was 
born  in  the  hospital,  and  died  with  its  mother.  Twenty-four  was 
the  largest  number  that  died  in  any  one  day,  and  the  largest 
weekly  mortality  was  for  the  week  ending  August  5th,  being  107. 

1  Subsequently  to  the  22d  of  September,  the  date  of  the  health  physician's  final 
report,  some  10  or  12  deaths  occurred  from  cholera. 

2  In  New  York,  during  the  same  period,  with  a  population  of  425,000,  there  were 
4,957  deaths,  being  a  ratio  of  1  to  every  86  persons. 


286  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

This  epidemic  commenced  in  Court  street,  and  was  not  confined 
to  any  particular  part  of  the  city,  although  nearly  four-fifths  were 
in  different,  well-defined  localities,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hoyt, 
Bond,  Butler,  Douglass  streets ;  Fourth  place,  between  Court  and 
Clinton  streets;  Blake's  Buildings,  State  street;  Furman  and 
Columbia;  Squire's  Buildings  in  Hicks,  near  Pacific  street; 
Hall's  alley,  Furman  street;  Clark's  Buildings,  Kelsey's  alley, 
Hamilton  avenue  and  Columbia  street.  These  localities  were  in 
the  neighborhood  of  low  ground  and  stagnant  water,  or  where 
the  filth  was  abundant,  and  were  too  crowded,  being  occupied  by  a 
population  at  least  one-half  or  one-third  larger  than  was  consist- 
ent with  either  comfort  or  health. 

Of  the  victims  of  this  epidemic,  a  large  portion  were  intemper- 
ate, and  among  those  who  were  temperate,  the  attack  could  in 
almost  every  instance  be  traced  to  some  error,  or  excess  in  diet.1 

1850.  This  year  presents  but  little  of  special  interest.  On 
February  4th,  occurred  the  terrible  Hague  street  explosion,  in 
New  York  city,  which  brought  sorrow  and  death  to  many  families, 
both  in  that  city  and  in  Brooklyn,  where  some  of  the  operatives 
and  victims  of  that  disaster  resided.  On  the  7th  of  July,  a  large 
fire  occurred  in  Brooklyn ;  which,  in  the  amount  of  damage 
done,  may  justly  be  termed  the  second  great  fire,  which  this  city 
has  suffered.  It  broke  out  at  3  a.m.,  in  the  large  storehouses  of 
Dr.  R.  V.  "W.  Thorne,  on  Furman  street,  in  which  were  stored  large 
quantities  of  sugar,  molasses,  salt,  saltpetre,  hides,  etc.,  etc. ;  ex- 
tended to  W.  &  J.  Tapscott's  sheds  adjoining,  occupied  by  naval 
stores,  etc.,  thence  to  Bache  &  Son's  rectifying  distillery,  burn- 
ing all  these  buildings,  as  also  the  First  Ward  Hotel,  and  destroying 
property  valued  at  not  less  than  $400,000.  The  most  prominent 
feature  of  the  fire  was  the  terrific  explosion  of  a  large  quantity 
of  saltpetre,  which  was  stored  in  one  of  the  warehouses,  and 
which  occasioned  the  utmost  consternation,  blowing  one  fire 
engine  and  those  who  were  working  it,  entirely  off  the  dock,  into 
the  water.     Luckily,  however,  no  lives  were  lost. 


aThe  above  facts  were  collected  from  the  report  of  C.  S.  J.  Goodrich,  M.D.,  Health 
Officer. 


'Mm, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  287 

This  year,  also,  the  subject  of  ferry  franchise,  which  had  re- 
mained pretty  much  in  statu  quo  since  the  legislative  act  of  1-  15, 
was  again  brought  into  public  notice,  several  meetings  held,  com- 
mittees formed,  etc. 

The  Episcopal  churches  of  The  Messiah  and  St.  31ark's,  and  the 
North  Gowanus  Reformed  Dutch  church  were  this  year  organized. 

The  City  Bank  was  this  year  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of 
§300,000.  The  Brooklyn  Dispensary  was  this  year  incorporated 
under  the  general  act.  The  Brooklyn  Female  Bible  Society, 
auxiliary  to  the  B.  C.  Bible  Society,  was  also  established. 

In  April,  Mr.  Samuel  Smith  was  chosen  mayor,  to  serve  from 
May  1st,  until  the  close  of  the  year,  in  accordance  with  an  amend- 
ment to  the  city  charter  which  made  the  term  of  this  and  the 
other  municipal  officers  commence  with  the  civil  year. 

Samuel  Smith,  the  son  of  Zachariah  and  Anne  Smith,  was  born  at  Hunt- 
ington, Suffolk  Co.,  L.  I.,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1788.  His  boyhood  was  spent 
upon  his  father's  farm  in  that  portion  of  the  town  called  Old  Fields  j  and 
his  education  was  mainly  acquired  at  the  Huntington  Academy.  In  1803  he 
commenced  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  cooper,  with  a  brother-in-law,  and  in 
1806,  removed  to  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  In  1809  he  abandoned  his  trade ; 
and,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Richard  Bouton,  hired  the  John  Jackson 
place,  and  went  to  farming.  A  year  later  they  left  this  location  and  hired 
what  was  known  as  the  Post  farm  (which  took  in  a  portion  of  the  pre- 
sent Fort  Greene).  In  1811,  Mr.  Smith  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Judge 
Tunis  Joralemon,  and  the  next  year  purchased  the  easterly  portion  of  the 
Tunis  G.  Johnson  farm  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  Old  Road  (now  Fulton 
avenue).  For  this  property,  comprising  nearly  fourteen  acres,  he  paid 
$6,000;  in  1815,  added  to  it  by  purchase,  the  southerly  portion  of  the 
original  Johnson  farm,  about  six  acres,  at  S500  per  acre  j  and,  in  1818,  he 
bought  the  remainder  (bounded  by  Red  Hook  lane,  Schermerhorn  street 
and  a  line  one  hundred  feet  east  of  Smith  street),  eight  acres,  for  the  sum  of 
$10,000.  Here  he  pursued  the  farming  and  milk  business  until  about  1825, 
when  he  turned  his  attention  exclusively  to  the  improvement  and  sale  of  his 
real  estate,  the  value  of  which  was  then  fast  increasing,  with  the  rapid 
development  of  the  village.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Smith  has  managed  his 
property  with  an  ability  and  success  which  have  made  him  one  of  our 
wealthiest  citizens.  Few  men  have  occupied  more  offices  of  trust,  or  filled 
them  more  entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  their  fellow  citizens,  than  the  sub- 


288  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

jecfc  of  our  sketch.  Commencing  with  the  office  of  commissioner  of  high- 
ways and  fence  viewer  of  the  old  town  of  Brooklyn,  which  he  held  from 
1821  to  '25  and  also  in  1827,  '33,  34  j  he  was  an  assessor  from  1827  to  '30 
inclusive;  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  in  1831,  and  for  several  years 
thereafter  j  was  a  supervisor  for  several  years,  and  for  two  years  chairman 
of  the  board  j  was  appointed  by  the  old  council  of  appointments,  a  county 
judge,  going  out  of  service  on  the  adoption  of  the  new  state  constitution  ;  and 
was  appointed  by  the  supervisors  of  the  several  towns  in  the  county,  one  of 
three  superintendents  of  the  poor,  entrusted  with  the  establishment  of  a 
county  system  of  provision  for  the  poor.  In  connection  with  his  associates, 
David  Johnson,  of  Flatbush  and  Michael  Schoonmaker,  he  selected  and 
purchased  the  present  county  farm  at  Flatbush  1  and  erected  thereon  build- 
ings, suitable  at  that  day,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  poor. 

Descended  as  he  was,  from  an  old  fashioned  democratic  family,  Mr.  Smith 
has  always  been  found  in  the  ranks  of  that  party ;  although  by  no  means,  a 
blind  adherent  to  party  drill.  When  the  city  of  Brooklyn  was  chartered,  in 
1834,  Mr.  Smith's  farm  was  brought  within  the  limits  of  the  Sixth  ward  (now 
cut  up  into  the  Sixth,  Tenth  and  Twelfth  wards),  and  he  was  chosen  as  its 
representative  in  the  board  of  aldermen,  serving  from  1834  to  1838,  from 
1842  to  '44,  and  1845  to  '46,  a  portion  of  the  time,  as  president  of  the  board. 
In  the  year  1850,  he  was  unanimously  nominated  by  the  democratic  party 
for  mayor,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  three  to  four  hundred  votes,  over 
Mr.  J.  T.  S.  Stranahan,  and  also  overcoming  the  two  thousand  majority  by 
which  his  predecessor  Mr.  Copeland  had  distanced  his  competitor  in  the 
previous  chartered  election.  As  mayor,  Mr.  Smith  always  possessed  the 
confidence  of  the  public  as  one  of  that  class  who  would  deal  with  public 
affairs  justly  and  faithfully  as  with  his  own.  He  was  selected  as  a  vigorous 
economist,  and  endeavored  to  do  his  duty  faithfully  and  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  and  always  commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  better 
classes. 

At  the  time  of  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Smith  belonged  to  the  uniformed 
militia  company  known  as  the  Washington  Fusileers,  and  as  a  member  of 
that  organization  served  in  camp  on  Fort  Greene;  until  finding  his  business 
interests  suffering  from  want  of  his  personal  supervision,  he  secured  a  sub- 
stitute in  the  service,  as  it  happened,  however,  only  eight  days  before  the 
discharge  of  the  militia,  in  consequence  of  the  approach  of  peace.  After  the 
war  he  received  a  commission  as  ensign  in  the  44th  (Col.  Joseph  Dean's) 
Regiment,  and  subsequently  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  the  same. 

1  From  Garret  Martense,  about  seventy  acres,  for  about  $3,000. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  9gg 

From  his  earliest  coming  to  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Smith  worshiped  with  the 
congregation  occupying  the  old  Dutch  church  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
road  (now  Fulton  street),  near  his  present  residence,  and,  in  1830,  he  be- 
came  a  member  of  that  communion,  of  which  he  is  the  oldest  living  representa- 
tive. Mr.  Smith,  also,  has  been  for  a  considerable  portion  of  his  life,  strongly 
identified  with  the  inception  and  interests  of  the  principal  moneyed  institu- 
tions of  Brooklyn,  having  been  a  director  of  the  Brooklyn  Bank  ;  a  director 
and,  for  two  years,  president  of  the  Atlantic  Bank ;  an  original  incorporator 
of  the  Nassau  Insurance  Company,  and  a  director  in  the  Mechanics  Insurance 
and  Home  Life  Insurance  Companies. 

1851.     With  the  year,  began  the  mayoralty  of 

Hon.  Conklin  Brush,  the  tenth  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  Com- 
mencing business  in  Xew  York,  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
with  no  resources  but  a  good  character,  and  great  business  tact  and  energy, 
he  rapidly  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  safe  and  successful  merchant. 
The  twenty-three  years,  during  which  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness, embraced  all  the  periods  of  great  commercial  disaster,  from  181G  to 
1840.  During  that  time,  he  was  at  the  head  of  nine  successful  mercantile 
firms,  no  one  of  which  ever  failed,  and  all  of  which  were  highly  prosperous. 
In  a  business  subject  to  such  vicissitudes  as  that  of  a  wholesale  commercial 
house,  and  in  a  city  in  which  mercantile  reverses  and  downfall  are  so  com- 
mon as  in  Xew  York,  it  is  no  slight  distinction  for  a  merchant  to  be  able 
to  say  that,  commencing  business  without  capital,  and  pursuing  it  on  a  large 
scale,  to  within  a  fraction  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he  maintained  the 
credit  and  secured  the  prosperity  and  wealth  of  the  various  firms  at  whose 
head  he  stood,  and  retired  at  last  upon  a  competency,  which  he  had  honor- 
ably acquired,  "  owing  no  man  anything/'  and  without  stain  upon  his  cha- 
racter as  a  man,  or  as  a  merchant.  That  is  Mr.  Brush's  distinction  ;  and 
the  class  to  which  he  belonged,  and  on  which  he  has  conferred  honor,  will 
know  how  to  appreciate  it. 

Mr.  Brush  has  resided  in  Brooklyn  since  1827.  Those  who  then  resided 
here  will  remember  that  Brooklyn  was  but  a  country  village,  with  ten  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  Mr.  Brush's  services  were  eagerly  sought  by  the  Brooklyn 
people  of  that  day,  and  he  served  in  the  board  of  trustees  in  1830 ;  and  in 
the  common  council  from  1834  to  1835,  serving  as  president  of  the  board. 
When  he  retired  from  the  presidency,  he  received  a  unanimous  vote  of 
thanks  for  the  manner  in  which  he  had  filled  the  office. 

In  every  leading  public  measure  which  has  advanced  the  growth  and  pro- 
sperity of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Brush  has  taken  an  active  part.     When  he  moved 

37 


290  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

to  Brooklyn,  there  was  not  a  public  lamp  in  the  village.  In  1832,  he  took 
measures  to  place  them  in  Hicks  and  Willow  streets,  and  since  then  they  have 
been  gradually  extended  so  as  to  light  all  the  populous  quarters  of  the  city. 

In  1834,  when  the  old  Cutting  ferry  lease  had  about  four  years  to  run,  a 
meeting  of  citizens  was  called,  and  a  committee  on  ferry  kws  and  rights 
was  appointed — Mr.  Brush  was  chairman  of  that  committee,  and  led  and 
directed  all  its  movements.  New  York  clutched  her  ferry  monopoly  with 
an  iron  grasp,  discouraging  improvements  in  ferry  accommodations,  and 
refusing  to  grant  any  ferry  south  of  Fulton  street.  The  committee  made  a 
demonstration  in  the  legislature,  and  New  York  taking  the  alarm,  the 
Atlantic  street  ferry  was  reluctantly  granted.  That  movement  led  to  a 
radical  reform  in  our  whole  ferry  system,  so  that  the  Brooklyn  ferries  are 
now  equal  to  any  in  the  world.  Mr.  Brush  also  led  the  movement  to  widen 
Fulton  street,  below  its  junction  with  Main  street,  against  a  most  violent 
opposition.  Those  who  remember  the  little,  narrow,  crooked  street,  which 
led  from  the  Fulton  Ferry  —  little  more  than  a  mere  cow  path,  know  what 
a  transformation  was  made  of  that  great  business  avenue  of  the  city.  So 
Mr.  Brush  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  converting  the  village  into  the  city  of 
Brooklyn. 

While  this  change  was  in  contemplation,  Mr.  Brush  was  appointed  by  a 
public  meeting  of  citizens,  on  a  committee  to  select  and  secure  a  site  for  a 
City  Hall,  and  to  obtain  authority  from  the  legislature  to  raise  the  necessary 
funds  to  pay  for  the  land  and  building.  Mr.  Brush  and  his  associates  ob- 
tained the  site  on  which  the  City  Hall  now  stands.  They  proposed  the 
erection  of  a  hall  substantially  like  the  present  building,  to  cost  about 
$100,000.  Unfortunately,  other  counsels  prevailed,  and  a  building  to  cost 
from  a  half  to  three-quarters  of  a  million  was  planned  and  commenced 
under  a  democratic  majority  in  the  common  council  —  an  egregious  blunder 
which  finally  resulted  in  a  ten  years  delay  in  the  erection  of  this  much  needed 
public  edifice ;  and,  what  was  worse,  in  the  formation  of  nearly  one-half  of 
the  debt  which  subsequently  burdened  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

To  Mr.  Brush,  also,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Daniel  Richards,  Brooklyn  is 
indebted  for  the  projection  and  inception  of  the  great  Atlantic  docks,  which 
was  incorporated  in  1840,  and  of  which  company  he  was  a  director,  during 
some  six  years.  In  1848,  he  erected  a  grain  elevator  and  several  stores 
connected  therewith.  In  the  fall  of  1850,  Mr.  Brush  was  nominated  by  the 
whig  party  as  their  candidate  for  the  mayoralty,  his  opponents  being  John 
Bice,  democratic,  and  George  Hall,  independent.  Mr.  Brush,  however, 
was  successful,  and  served  as  mayor  of  the  city  during  the  years  1851  and 
1852.     The  city  never  had  a  mayor  of  more  unquestionable  competency  in 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  -;»] 

all  the  details  of  thorough  practical  service.  Diligent  and  conscientious, 
his  perfect  familiarity  with  financial  affairs  secured  lor  him  the  confidence 
and  support  of  the  large  property  interest,  which  sensitively  requitt 
due  knowledge  and  caution  on  the  part  of  public  servants.  Previous  to  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  the  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Brooklyn  was 
organized,  and  being  urged  to  accept  its  presidency,  he  declined  a  renomina- 
tion  to  political  office,  and  entered  upon  this  new  position  of  financial  trust, 
for  which  he  was  so  well  adapted,  and  which  by  successive  reelections  he 
still  continues  to  fill. 

Last,  but  by  no  means  least,  among  the  many  important  >ervices  which 
Mr.  Brush  lias  rendered  to  the  city,  was  his  connection,  from  the  first,  with 
the  great  movement  for  procuring  a  supply  of  water  ;  his  valuable  efforts 
having  been  properly  recognized  in  his  selection,  by  the  mayor,  as  one  of 
the  board  of  construction  of  the  water  commissioners. 

1851.  That  part  of  the  city  known  as  South  Brooklyn,  began  to 
make  rapid  strides  in  the  development  of  those  commercial 
resources,  and  density  of  population  which  now  distinguish  it. 
A  glimpse  of  this  wonderful  transformation  is  afforded  in  the 
following  extract  from  the  editorial  column  of  the  Star,  dated 
May  12th:  "  On  Red  Hook,  but  recently  a  desert  sand  hill  and 
unwholesome  marsh,  we  now  behold  long  rows  of  buildings, 
and  listen  to  the  busy  hum  of  improvement.  In  a  less  period  than 
twelve  months  the  tide  ebbed  and  flowed  where  now  are  new 
streets,  laid  out,  graded  and  paved,  and  hundreds  of  eligible 
building  sites  are  ready  for  occupancy.  The  old  hill  i3  fast  passing 
away,  and  soon  will  be  numbered  with  the  things  that  were.  A 
new  dock  head  and  pier  has  been  built  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  point.  Van  Brunt  street,  running  parallel  with  the  easterly 
line  of  Atlantic  basin,  has  been  opened  aud  graded  from  Hamilton 
avenue  nearly  to  the  extremity  of  the  point.  On  this  street,  twelve 
new  warehouses  have  been  added  the  past  season  to  the  Atlantic 
dock  storehouses,  each  38  by  180  feet  and  five  stories  high,  being 
of  uniform  style  and  dimensions  with  those  previously  erected  ; 
further  down,  a  handsome  brick  mill,  50  by  200  feet  and  three 
stories  high,  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  wadding,  has  gone  into 
operation,  giving  employment  to  quite  a  number  of  operatives  and 
consuming  about  3,000  pounds  of  cotton  daily.    Other  commodious 


292  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

buildings  for  manufacturing  purposes  are  in  contemplation,  and 
preparations  are  also  making  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Atlantic 
Basin,  and  the  western  shore  of  the  Hook,  several  new  docks  are 
in  progress  which,  when  completed,  will  afford  increased  facilities 
for  manufacturing  and  commercial  purposes." 

There  were  at  this  time  in  Brooklyn  a  considerable  number  of 
Distilleries,  Rectifying  Establishments,  etc.,  whose  annual  products 
added  very  considerably  to  the  material  wealth,  and  commercial 
industry  of  the  city.  In  East  Brooklyn,  were  the  whisky  dis- 
tilleries of  Charles  Wilson,  Messrs.  Wood  &  Co.,  and  the  Messrs. 
Bache.  The  first  named  was  the  oldest  establishment  of  the  kind 
in  the  city,  having  been  in  operation  during  a  period  of  about 
seventeen  years,  and  was  located  on  the  corner  of  Franklin  avenue, 
and  Skillman  street.  It  contained  accommodations  for  800  cows, 
and  consumed  120,000  bushels  of  grain  a  year,  valued  at  $72,000, 
and  700  tons  of  coal,  worth  $3,800.  Its  products  were  480,000 
gallons  of  whisky  per  annum,  valued  at  $120,000  ;  and  166,500 
barrels  of  swill  were  annually  disposed  of,  for  $9,150.  The  es- 
tablishment had  a  capital  of  $50,000,  and  employed  18  hands,  at 
an  annual  expense  of  $6,000,  its  works  being  operated  by  a  20- 
horse  power  engine. 

The  distillery  of  Messrs.  Wood  &  Co.,  near  Flushing  avenue, 
was  erected  during  the  previous  summer  (1850)  at  a  cost  of  $35,000. 
It  occupied  8  lots  of  ground,  consumed  14,400  bushels  of  grain, 
and  120  tons  of  coal  per  month,  and  produced  57,600  gallons  of 
whisky  per  month,  besides  the  swill  which  amounted  to  about 
$744  during  the  same  period.  Twelve  hands  were  employed;  its 
machinery,  all  of  the  newest  and  most  approved  construction  was 
moved  by  an  engine  of  40-horse  power,  and  was  deemed  capable 
of  doing  a  much  larger  business. 

The  Wallabout  distillery,  located  on  the  Williamsburgh  line, 
was  erected  some  sixteen  years  previously,  and  had  been  operated 
by  the  Messrs.  Bache,  under  the  direction  of  John  A.  Cross.  In 
1850,  after  lying  idle  for  over  two  years,  having  been  leased 
for  that  purpose,  by  an  association  of  distillers,  at  $3,300  per 
annum,  it  was  fitted  up  at  an  expense  of  $10,000  or  $12,000,  and 
put  in  operation  by  Messrs.  Towers  &  Rinqueberg.     It  distilled  all 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  293 

kinds  of  grain,  corn,  rye,  oats,  barley,  and  wheat,  consuming  800 
or  1,000  bushels  daily,  or  600,000  bushels  annually;  consumed 
2,340  tons  of  coal  yearly,  and  manufactured  3,000  gallons  of  whisky 
per  diem,  or  about  950,000  per  annum.  The  works  covered  about 
eight  lots  of  ground,  and  gave  employment  to  20  operatives  at  a 
cost  of  $6,000,  the  machinery  being  operated  by  an  engine  of  40- 
horse  power. 

Blair,  Bates  &  Co.'s  establishment,  on  the  comer  of  Flatbush 
turnpike  and  Pacific  street,  consumed  187,800  bushels  of  grain,  and 
1,716  tons  of  coal  per  annum,  and  manufactured  751,200  gallons 
of  whisky  each  year,  while  the  swill  was  sold  for  nearly  enough 
to  pay  the  running  expenses  of  the  works.  It  employed  16 
operatives  at  §6,000  per  annum,  and  had  an  engine  of  35-horse 
power. 

Messrs.  Bache,  Sons  &  Co.,  had  a  rectifying  distillery,  located 
on  Furman  street,  near  Fulton  Ferry,  and  covering  6  lots  of 
ground.  It  was  established  in  1811,  and  its  business  was  wholly 
confined  to  the  rectifying  of  whisky,  and  the  manufacture  of 
Cologne  spirits,  gin,  brandy,  and  pure  spirits.  18,000  bushels  of 
charcoal,  and  300  tons  of  Lackawanna  coal  were  annually  con- 
sumed; 12  men,  and  a  small  6-horse  power  engine  were  employed, 
and  the  daily  products  were  3,800  gallons. 

Messrs.  Hunter  &  Manly  had  a  similar  establishment  in 
Doughty  street,  which  had  been  in  operation  some  ten  years,  did 
about  half  the  business  of  Messrs.  Bache's  works,  and  manufac- 
tured domestic  liquors  of  all  sorts. 

Johnson's  brewery,  erected  in  the  summer  of  1850,  on  Front, 
corner  of  Jay  street,  was  formerly  located  on  the  corner  of  York 
and  Jay  streets.  It  covered  6  lots,  enjoyed  an  established  reputa- 
tion, and  consumed  about  20,000  bushels  of  grain  per  season. 

The  combined  statistics  of  this  branch  of  Brooklyn  industry 
show  that  6  distilleries,  3  rectifying  establishments  and  a  brewery, 
employing  altogether  179  persons,  and  consuming  grain  and  fuel  to 
the  value  of  §993,300  annually,  produced  during  the  same  period 
5,459,300  gallons  of  whisky,  valued  at  §1,364,925,  besides  §40,000 
worth  of  slops  and  swill.  2,964,000  gallons  of  whisky  were  rec- 
tified and  manufactured  into  domestic  liquors,  pure  spirits,  etc. 


294  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

At  the  same  time  there  was  also  more  white  lead  manufactured 
in  Brooklyn  than  in  any  other  city  or  town  in  America  (and 
probably  as  much  as  was  made  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States), 
consuming  nearly  one-third  the  product  of  all  the  then  existing 
lead  mines  of  the  country.  The  Brooklyn  White  Lead  "Works, 
located  on  Front  street,  between  Washington  and  Adams,  was 
the  oldest  in  the  city  and  state,  and  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
country,1  having  been  established  in  1822,  and  incorporated  in 
1825,  with  a  capital  of  $53,000,  by  J.  B.  &  Augustus  Graham, 
and  other  enterprising  capitalists.  It  occupied  an  entire  block  of 
230  by  200  feet,  employing  90  men;  and  producing  annually 
2,500  tons  of  white  lead,  red  lead,  litharge,  etc.,  valued  at  $425,000. 

The  whole  united  product  of  the  white  lead  works  of  Brooklyn 
at  this  time,  was  from  6  to  12,000  tons  annually,  and  their  united 
capital  was  over  one  million  of  dollars. 

We  have  presented  the  above  industrial  statistics,  as  illustrating 
more  fully  than  in  any  other  manner,  the  rapidly  increasing  value 
and  importance  of  the  city  at  this  period  of  her  existence. 

The  religious  interests  of  the  city,  during  the  year  1851,  were 
increased  by  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone,  June  19th,  of  a  new 
and  splendid  edifice,  for  the  Strong  Place  Baptist  church;  the 
commencement  of  a  new  house  of  worship  (August  12th),  for  the 
York  street  Methodist  Episcopal  church;  the  erection,  in  Adelphi 
street  of  the  (Episcopal)  Church  of  the  Messiah ;  and  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  Congregational  Society,  by  a  secession  from  the 
Bridge  street  church. 

July  1st.  Not  to  be  forgotten,  also,  in  the  annals  of  Brook- 
lyn, was  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home, 
a  charity  which  owes  its  inception,  and  its  subsequent  perfect 
development  to  the  Christian  philanthropy  and  liberality  of  the 
late  John  B.  Graham,  Esq. 

The  Atlantic  Insurance  Company  was  chartered  this  year,  as  also, 
the  Citizens  Union  Cemetery. 

1  The  oldest  white  lead  factory  was  that  of  Wetherell,  established  at  Philadel- 
phia, in  1796 ;  next  was  that  of  Lewis,  in  1800,  and  then  Hinton  &  Moore  erected 
one  at  Belleville,  N.  J.,  in  1818.  There  were  also  a  few  others,  most  of  them,  how 
ever,  unsuccessful. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  295 

The  Church  (Episcopal)  Charity  Foundation  WM  incorporated  in 
March,  of  this  year,  and  the  Free  German  Society  was  organized 
for  benevolent  purposes,  on  the  18th  of  August 

The  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary  was  also  established  this  year. 

The  WeeksviUe  (colored)  Baptist  church,  Second  (Unitarian),  and 
South  Congregational;  Hicks  street  and  Summerfield  Methodist 
Episcopal  Churches;  North  Reformed  Dutch,  and  the  Church  on 
the  Heights  (Dr.  Bethune's) ;  the  Roman  Catholic  church  of  St. 
John's,  were  organized. 

1852.  On  the  evening  of  January  31st,  a  meeting  of  the  young 
men  of  Brooklyn  was  held,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
an  institution  designed  to  promote  the  moral  and  intellectual  in- 
terest of  the  youth  of  the  city,  more  especially  of  that  portion 
known  as  South  Brooklyn. 

It  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Brooklyn  Athenceum  and 
Beading  Boom,  and  during  the  same  year  an  elegant  and  commo- 
dious edifice  was  erected,  on  the  corner  of  Atlantic  and  Clinton 
streets,  for  its  occupancy.  The  intellectual  advantages  of  the  city 
were  also  increased,  during  the  month  of  February,  by  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Franklin  Debating  Association. 

November.  Mr.  Edward  A.  Lambert  was  elected  mayor  of  the 
city,  for  the  years  1853  and  '54. 

The  benevolent  operations  of  the  city  were  augmented  by  the 
organization  of  the  Protestant  Mutual  Benefit  Society  of  Brooklyn, 
subsequently  reorganized,  in  1854,  under  the  title  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Mutual  Benefit  Society  of  Brooklyn ;  the  Thistle 
Benevolent  Society,  and  the  Brooklyn  Homoeopathic  Dispensary. 

This  year,  also,  witnessed  the  incorporation  of  the  Brooklyn. 
Greenwood  and  Bath  Plank  Road  Co. ;  the  Mechanics  Bank,  and  the 
Nassau  Insurance  Company. 

Mayor  Lambert's  communication  to  the  common  council,  on 
the  3d  of  January,  1853,  presents  a  summary  of  the  progress  of 
the  city  during  the  year  1852.  "  Well  may  we  rejoice,"  he  says, 
"in  the  increase  of  population,  numbering  at  the  present  time  some 
120,000,  and  ranking  us  as  the  seventh  city  in  our  union  ;  in  the 
increase  of  taxable  property,  amounting  to  nearly  twelve  millions 
of  dollars  during  the  past  year ;  and  in  the  many  improvements 


296  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

which  have  taken  place  in  various  parts  of  the  city,  evidencing  a 
solid  and  permanent  growth."  Fifteen  schools  are  mentioned  as 
under  the  control  of  the  board  of  education,  giving  instruction  to 
18,307  scholars,  while  two  evening  schools  had  been  opened, 
which  were  attended  by  800  scholars.  Twenty-two  miles  of  street 
mains  had  been  laid  down  by  the  Brooklyn  Gas  Company,  being 
nearly  half  of  the  whole  number  put  down  since  the  formation  of 
the  company,  and  1,202  gas  lamps  had  been  erected.  The  number 
of  buildings  erected  during  the  year  1852  was  2,500.  The  move- 
ment, first  agitated  in  1835,  for  the  securing  of  a  full  and  perma- 
nent water  supply  for  Brooklyn,  was  this  year  advanced  by  the 
investigations  of  Mr.  Wm.  J.  McAlpine,  an  engineer  appointed, 
in  1851,  to  make  the  necessary  examination ;  and  his  report  and 
plans  were  recommended  by  the  mayor  in  his  annual  report. 
The  mayor  also  then  alludes  to  another  matter  of  interest.  "The 
city  of  Brooklyn  has  ever  been  noted  for  its  quietude  on  the 
sabbath ;  and  its  citizens  for  their  love  of  order  and  respect  of 
the  laws.  Within  the  past  few  years,  however,  the  increase  of 
crime  and  drunkenness,  more  especially  prevalent  on  the  sabbath  ; 
the  fearful  augmentation  of  unlicensed  shops  for  the  sale  of 
liquors ;  the  introduction  of  manners  and  habits  foreign  to  our 
institutions,  have  awakened  the  attention  of  our  citizens,  who 
were  annoyed  and  disturbed,  not  only  by  what  their  own  eyes 
beheld,  but  also  by  the  baneful  influence  of  these  things  on  the 
rising  generation.  Petitions  from  a  large  number  of  citizens, 
deeply  interested  in  the  city's  welfare,  were  presented  to  the 
common  council  in  1850,  praying  for  an  ordinance  preventing  the 
opening  of  shops  and  other  places  on  the  sabbath ;  which  resulted 
in  the  passage  of  the  law  denominated  the  Sunday  ordinance, 
the  enforcement  of  which  has  deeply  interested  the  community. 
Organizations  of  liquor  dealers  and  others  hostile  to  the  law  were 
made,  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  any  nominee  for  office  who  was 
in  favor  of  said  law.  The  issue  was  made  by  these  associations  at 
the  last  election  for  executive  officers  of  the  city ;  the  result  of 
which  was  an  unprecedented  majority  voted  for  those  officers 
known  to  be  favorable  to  the  law ;  which  majority  would  have 
been  greatly  augmented  had  the  opposition  been  more  open,  or 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  207 

any  doubt  of  the  results  of  the  issue  thus  made  by  the  opponents 
of  the  law,  been  entertained  by  our  citizens.  I  am  abundantly 
satisfied,  from  personal  observation  and  the  testimony  of  those 
familiar  with  the  sentiments  of  our  citizens,  that  nine-tenths  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  are  in  favor  of  the  law.  Although  it 
has  been  modified  in  some  slight  particulars  by  the  decision  of 
one  of  our  judges,  its  operation  has  not  been  essentially  affected 
thereby.  The  salutary  influence  of  the  law  has  been  seen  on  the 
sabbath." 

The  religious  interests  of  Brooklyn  were  also  increased  by  the 
organization  of  the  Washington  Avenue  (Baptist) ;  the  German  (Re- 
formed Dutch,  and  the  Brooklyn  (Methodist  Episcopal)  Home 
Mission  churches. 

Edward  Augustus  Lambert  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  June 
10th,  1813.  His  father,  who  was  master  of  a  merchant  ship  in  the  service 
of  one  of  the  old  South  street  shipping  houses,  was  lost  at  sea  with  his  vessel; 
and  his  son,  from  the  age  of  twelve  years,  was  obliged  to  depend  upon  his 
own  efforts.  As  clerk,  he  served  in  an  importing  house  until  1832.  entering 
then  into  the  stationery  business.  In  1849  he  was  chosen  on  the  democratic 
(free-soil)  ticket,  as  alderman  from  the  Sixth  ward  of  Brooklyn;  and,  on  the 
division  of  that  ward,  in  1850,  he  was  elected  alderman  of  the  (new)  Tenth 
ward,  (formed  from  the  Sixth),  and  was  honored  by  the  presidency  of  the 
board.  In  November,  1852,  he  was  elected,  on  the  democratic  ticket,  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  for  the  years  1853  and  '5-4.  During  the  term  of  his 
mayoralty,  the  affairs  of  the  city  were  administered  with  strict  economy,  and 
the  laws  were  enforced  with  an  impartiality  and  strictness  which  secured 
the  universal  approbation  of  his  fellow  citizens;  while  his  personal  devotion 
to  all  the  duties  of  his  station,  whether  at  or  outside  of  the  office,  was 
conspicuous. 

During  his  term  of  office,  charters  were  granted  to,  and  contracts  made 
with,  the  horse  rail  roads  which  now  form  so  important  an  element  of 
Brooklyn  interests ;  the  introduction  of  a  permanent  supply  of  water  was 
assured  to  the  city,  by  the  purchase  of  ponds,  etc.  ;  the  Truant  Children's 
Home  was  established  and  the  Sunday  law  rigorously  enforced  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  all  good  citizens.  In  the  spring  of  1854.  Mayor  Lambert's 
health  failed,  under  the  pressure  of  the  official  labors  to  which  he  had  so 
untiringly  devoted  his  time  and  strength,  and  the  common  council  granted 
his  request  for  a  leave  of  absence.     He  accordingly  spent  about  six  weeks  in 

38 


298  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Europe,  and  returning  home,  June  the  1st,  found  the  city  of  Brooklyn  in  a 
state  of  excitement.  Riots  had  broken  out  between  the  Irish  and  parties 
affiliated  with  the  Know-Nothing  party,  and  prompt  and  energetic  measures 
were  required  to  suppress  them.  These  measures  were  at  once  adopted  by 
Mayor  Lambert,  whose  characteristic  firmness,  decision  and  impartiality 
rendered  him  exactly  the  man  for  the  emergency ;  and  he  was  admirably 
seconded  by  the  civil,  police  and  military  force  which  he  immediately 
summoned  to  his  aid.  Had  the  helm  of  the  city's  affairs,  at  this  juncture, 
been  placed  in  any  less  capable  hands,  Brooklyn  might  have  had  days  of 
bloodshed  and  disgrace  to  mar  the  pages  of  her  record.  As  it  was,  the  power 
of  the  law,  the  rights  of  free  speech  and  the  proprieties  of  the  sabbath  were 
fully  vindicated. 

During  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  Mr.  Lambert  was  among  the  first  to 
promote  volunteering,  etc.,  and  called  the  first  great  war  meeting,  on  Fort 
Greene,  in  April,  1861.  He  was  also  the  recording  secretary  and  an  active 
member  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  in  June 
1862,  to  provide  for  the  reception,  care  and  relief  of  wounded  and  sick 
soldiers  forwarded  from  the  field  by  government;  and  when  the  great 
Sanitary  Fair  was  organized  in  1864,  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
benefits,  entertainments  and  exhibitions,  in  which  capacity,  as  well  as  by 
his  labors  as  a  member  of  the  War  Fund  committee,  he  rendered  most  ex- 
cellent service. 

Mr.  Lambert  has  been,  for  many  years,  prominently  identified  with  the 
Presbyterian  denomination,  as  delegate  to  its  synods  and  treasurer  of  the 
Presbyterian  committee  of  Home  Missions ;  and  was  one  of  the  most  active 
and  influential  original  members  of  the  Lafayette  avenue  Presbyterian  church 
(Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler's).  He  is,  at  present,  the  president  of  the  Craftsman's  Life 
Insurance  Company,  of  New  York  city. 

1853.  February.  The  Myrtle  Avenue  and  Jamaica  Plank  Road 
Company  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  which  was 
subsequently  increased  to  $55,000. 

June  9th.  The  Exempt  Firemen's  Association  of  the  City  of 
Brooklyn  (Western  District),  was  this  day  revived  and  reorgan- 
ized. 

September.  The  Brooklyn  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
was  organized. 

December  17th.  The  Brooklyn  City  Bail  Road  Company  was 
incorporated  under  the  general  law  of  the  state  of  New  York, 


HISTOBY  OF  BROOKLYN.  299 

and  set  immediately  to  work  to  lay  the  rails  on  the  several  routes 
designated  by  their  contract  with  the  city  authorities. 

On  the  20th  of  the  same  month,  the  Colonnade  row  on  the 
Heights,1  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  consisted  of  eight  four-story 
prick  buildings,  having  on  their  fronts  large  wooden  columns  and 
balustrades  ;  and  being  conspicuous  from  the  river,  were  much  no- 
ticed and  admired,  especially  by  strangers. 

During  the  year,  the  common  council,  acting  under  authority 
of  the  act  passed  June  19th,  1851,  purchased  several  streams  and 
ponds  of  water  on  the  island,  at  an  expense  of  some  §44,000  ;  and 
which  sources,  it  was  estimated,  would  furnish  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  water  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  city  for  a  period  of  years,  while 
the  quality  of  the  water  for  purity,  etc.,  was  unsurpassed.  In 
June,  an  act  was  passed,  by  the  legislature,  entitled  "  An  Act  for 
the  supply  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  with  water ;  "  which  act  re- 
quired, that  before  the  adoption  of  any  plan,  the  same  should  be 
submitted  to  the  electors  for  their  approval.  A  special  election 
was,  therefore,  held  in  the  month  of  July,  which  resulted  in  the 
rejection,  by  a  majority  of  3,700,  of  the  plan  proposed  by  the 
common  council.  A  strong  opposition  was  found  to  be  arrayed 
against  the  plan,  while  many  citizens,  too  confident  of  the  success 
of  the  undertaking,  did  not  interest  themselves  in  its  favor.  As, 
however,  the  act  empowered  the  common  council  to  submit  other 
plans  and  estimates,  until  an  approval  was  obtained,  this  defeat 
was  but  a  temporary  delay  to  the  progress  of  the  important  and 
beneficent  work  of  procuring  a  supply  of  wholesome  water  for 
Brooklyn. 

The  ecclesiastical  organizations  of  the  city  were  this  year  in- 
creased by  the  founding  of  the  Episcopal  churches  of  the  Redeemer 
and  of  St.  George  ;  the  East  Reformed  Dutch  church;  the  Catholic 
church  of  St.  Joseph;  the  United  Brethren  Protestant  Episcopal 
(Moravian)  church,  and  the  United  Presbyterian  (Associated  Re- 
formed) church. 

The  Long  Island  arid  the  Phoenix  Insurance  Companies  this  year 
commenced  business  each  with  a  capital  of  §200,000. 

1  Corner  of  Columbia  and  Middagk  streets. 


300  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1854.  February.  During  this  month,  were  organized  the  Ec- 
cles'ton  Literary  Association,  connected  with  the  Catholic  churches 
of  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's ;  and  the  Brooklyn  Horticultural  Society, 
which  was  incorporated  in  April  following.  The  Brooklyn  City 
Rail  Road  Company  (on  the  21st),  opened  its  hooks  for  subscription 
to  its  stock,  which  was  immediately  taken  up  by  150  persons. 

March.  The  Brooklyn  Female  Employment  Society  was  organ- 
ized. 

April.  On  the  4th  of  this  month  the  Brooklyn  Industrial  Schools 
Association,  was  organized,  having  for  its  objects  the  reclaiming  of 
poor  children  from  ignorance  and  vice,  and  the  training  to  useful- 
ness in  society,  and  teaching  them  habits  of  cleanliness,  industry, 
etc.,  etc." 

On  the  17th,  the  legislature,  three-fifths  being  present,  passed 
an  "  Act  to  consolidate  the  cities  of  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburgh,  and 
the  town  of  Bushwick  into  a  municipal  government,  and  to  incorporate 
the  same,"  the  said  act  to  take  effect  on  the  1st  of  January,  1855. 

May.  The  Pierrepont  House,  on  the  corner  of  Montague  and 
Hicks  streets,  was  first  opened  to  the  public.  It  was  erected  by 
Messrs.  Kitchen  &  Litchfield,  was  modelled  externally  after  the 
Prescott  House  of  New  York  city,  was  elegantly  furnished,  and 
immediately  took  the  position,  which  it  has  since  held,  of  the 
leading  hotel  of  Brooklyn. 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  month  street  meetings  and 
public  religious  exercises  in  the  open  air  were  inaugurated  in 
this  city,  by  persons  connected  with  the  Primitive  Methodist 
church,  in  Bridge  street.  The  meeting  of  the  29th,  held  at  the 
corner  of  Atlantic  and  Smith  streets,  was  disturbed  by  the  pre- 
sence of  some  300  ISTew  York  Know-Nothings,  who  provoked  a 
fracas  on  their  way  home,  and  were  finally  driven  across  the 
Catharine  street  ferry. 

June  4th.  (Sabbath).  The  ill-feeling  arising  from  the  above 
mentioned  affair,  culminated  this  day  in  a  serious  riot,  an  account 
of  which  we  condense  from  the  columns  of  the  Eagle. 

The  sermon  delivered  as  usual  at  the  corner  of  Smith  and  Atlantic  streets, 
although  occasionally  interrupted  by  riotous  demonstrations  by  the  immense 
crowd  collected  there,  was  finally  concluded  at  about  seven  o'clock,  and 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  301 

shortly  before  that  time  the  deputation  of  New  Yforkers,  who  were  over  on 
the  previous  Sunday,  appeared,  to  the  number  of  about  150,  marching 
arm  inarm,  three  abreast.  Arriving  on  the  spot,  they  marched  and  counter- 
marched, amid  cheers  and  hootings  and  mingled  noises,  until  they  were  met, 
in  Smith  street,  by  the  mayor,  who  informed  them  that  the  authorities  of 
Brooklyn  were  able  to  preserve  the  peace  without  foreign  aid,  and  that  any 
breach  of  the  peace  would  be  summarily  dealt  with.  He  also  ordered  them 
to  cease  their  marching,  which  they  did.  The  preacher  and  his  friends,  as 
soon  as  the  sermon  was  over,  took  their  leave,  and  proceeded  quietly  home. 
The  crowd  now  began  to  disperse,  and  most  of  the  spectators  considered  all 
danger  of  an  entente  at  an  end.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  service,  the 
New  Yforkers  marched  through  Smith  street,  Fulton  avenue  and  Fulton 
street,  and  down  Main  street  to  the  ferry,  where  a  number  of  policemen 
had  preceded  them  and  where,  also,  an  excited  crowd  of  many  thousands 
of  all  sorts  of  people  were  already  collected,  among  whom  were  many  women 
and  children,  all  anxiously  awaiting  the  turn  of  events.  Clubs  had  been 
collected  aud  laid  in  the  gutters  and  other  places,  so  as  to  be  handy  when 
required,  while  stones  were  gathered  by  the  boys,  and  every  preparation 
made  for  a  desperate  fight.  The  few  policemen  who  were  on  hand  did  their 
utmost  to  suppress  anything  like  an  outbreak  before  the  New  Yforkers 
arrived;  but  they  had  a  tough  time  of  it,  as  the  crowd  fell  upon  them  and 
beat  them  with  clubs  and  other  missiles.  The  police  did  their  duty  man- 
fully, however,  regardless  of  the  blows  that  fell  upon  them  thick  and  fast. 
Notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  nearly  all  that  were  taken  hold  of  by  the 
officers  were  taken  to  the  lock-up. 

When  about  half  of  the  New  Yorkers  had  passed  the  corner  of  Front 
street,  a  regular  shower  of  stones,  sticks  and  other  missiles  was  fired  among 
them,  but  they  remained  unbroken  and  marched  on.  The  missiles  fell 
thicker  and  faster,  and  now  the  discharge  of  fire-arms  commenced,  the  New 
Yorkers  firing  upon  their  assailants.  Shot  after  shot  was  fired,  and  volley 
after  volley  was  thrown,  and  the  scene  became  indescribable.  The  Main 
street  crowd  became  wild  with  excitemeut,  and  pelted  the  procession  as  fast 
as  they  could  gather  the  materials  to  do  it  with,  while  steadily  and  with 
military  precision,  the  procession  marched  withiu  the  ferry-house  gates,  and 
fired  shot  after  shot  upon  the  other  portion  of  the  mob.  Several  were  hit, 
but  none  were  killed.  "  To  the  wharf,"  ;>  To  the  wharf,"  was  now  cried, 
and  a  large  body  proceeded  to  the  right  of  the  ferry-house,  some  climbing 
upon  the  sheds,  or  other  eminences,  and  hurling  stones  upon  the  ferry-house 
and  the  boat  then  in  the  slip,  until  the  windows  were  smashed  and  the 
panels  broken  in. 


302  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  passengers  were  seriously  annoyed  and  greatly  endangered,  but  the 
lady  portion  were  soon  escorted  into  the  saloDn,  where  they  remained  com- 
paratively safe,  and  a  portion  of  the  New  Yorkers  were  taken  across  the 
river.  Those  that  stayed  behind  kept  up  a  continual  fire  through  the  gates 
in  answer  to  the  shower  of  stones.  The  pilots  of  the  ferry  boats  not  deem- 
ing it  safe  to  land  their  passengers,  kept  moving  up  and  down  across  the 
mouth  of  the  slip,  until  comparative  order  had  been  restored  on  shore. 
They  then  entered,  and  after  some  arrests  had  been  made  of  those  within 
the  gates,  they  were  permitted  to  depart. 

A  short  time  previous  to  this  the  military,  with  General  Duryea  command- 
ing, came  upon  the  ground.  The  sheriff  appeared,  the  riot  act  was  read  by 
the  mayor,  and  a  general  clearing  of  the  mob  took  place.  The  officers  were 
all  active  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  quiet  and  order  was  again 
restored.  Instead  of  an  excited  populace,  the  soldiery  soon  took  their  place, 
and  if  there  was  an  idea  of  renewing  the  fight,  those  inclined  thereto  wisely 
determined  to  let  things  remain  as  they  were  for  the  present. 

Several  persons  were  wounded,  by  missiles  or  shots,  only  one  case,  how- 
ever, proving  fatal ;  and  many  arrests  were  made.  The  regiment  on  duty, 
during  the  day,  was  the  14th,  under  command  of  Col.  Jesse  C.  Smith j  and 
the  City  Cadets,  Capt.  Edmonds.  The  following  sabbath  passed  over  with- 
out disturbance,  the  angel  Gabriel  held  forth  in  a  vacant  lot,  and  was  not 
interrupted,  and  the  right  of  free  speech  being  fully  vindicated  by  the 
prompt  and  decisive  action  of  the  mayor  and  authorities,  aided  by  the 
efforts  of  Bishop  Loughlin  among  his  parishioners,  in  Main  street  and 
vicinity,  street  preaching  and  ill-feeling  gradually  subsided. 


June.  On  the  13th,  the  cholera  made  its  appearance  in  Ply- 
mouth and  Pacific  streets.  It  numbered  656  persons  among  its 
victims,  before  the  close  of  the  season. 

July.  On  the  3d  of  this  month,  the  cars  of  the  Brooklyn  City 
Rail  Road  Company  made  their  first  trips  over  the  Myrtle  avenue, 
Flushing  avenue  and  Fulton  street,  and  Fulton  avenue  routes;  their 
first  paying  trips  being  made  on  the  following  day,  the  4th.  On 
the  8th  of  August,  cars  began  to  run  over  the  Greenwood  route. 

September  11th.  Memorable  in  the  educational  history  of 
Brooklyn,  as  marking  the  commencement  of  the  Packer  Collegiate 
Institute  for  Girls,  which  superseded  the  former  Brooklyn  Female 
Academy. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL\  N  303 

As  a  counterpart  to  the  Packer  Institute,  another  educational 
establishment,  for  boys,  called  the  Brooklyn  CollegiaU  and  PolyU  chnic 
Institute,  was  incorporated  during  this  same  year. 

In  November,  was  incorporated  the  Union  Ferry  Company  of 
Brooklyn,  with  a  capital  of  §800,000.  This  new  corporation 
superseded  the  former  Union  Ferry  Company,  which  had  existed 
since  1851.  There  were  previously  two  associated  companies  : 
the  Few  York  and  Union  Ferry  Company,  from  1839  to  1844, 
and  the  Brooklyn  Union  Ferry  Company,  from  1844  to  1851. 

The  Mechanics'  Exchange  Association  was  this  year  established. 

The  Atlantic  Street  Baptist ;  the  Central  Warren  Street  3Iissio7i, 
and  Park  Congregational  churches  ;  the  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
Good  Angels;  the  Second  Primitive  Methodist  church ;  the  North 
Brooklyn  (Lee  Avenue)  Reformed  Dutch  church,  and  the  Catholic 
churches  of  St.  Benedicts,  St.  Bonefacius,  and  The  Visitation,  were 
this  year  founded  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 


304  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  EARLY  SETTLERS  AND  PATENTS  OF  BUSHWICK. 

On  page  26  of  our  first  volume,  we  stated  that  the  territory  em- 
braced within  the  ancient  town  of  Bushwick  was  purchased  from 
its  Indian  proprietors,  by  the  West  India  Company,  in  August, 
1638 ;  and,  on  pages  29  and  44  of  the  same  volume,  we  have  indicated 
the  beginnings  of  its  earliest  settlement  (1641  - 1650)  by  certain 
Swedes  and  Norwegians,  or  Normans  as  they  were  called,  together 
with  a  few  Dutchmen.  These  persons,  such  as  Bergen  and  Moll 
at  the  Wallabout,  Garstaensen  and  Borsin  on  the  East  river,  Vol- 
kertse  at  Green  point,  and  Jan  the  Swede  on  the  site  of  the  subsequent 
village  of  Bushwick,  seem  to  have  occupied  and  cultivated  their 
bouweries,  independently  of  one  another,  and  subject  directly  to 
the  authority  of  the  director  and  council  at  Manhattan,  from  whom 
they  received  their  patents.  And,  as  we  have  no  evidence  of  any 
attempt  to  lay  out  a  regular  settlement,  or  to  organize  a  town, 
until  1660,  a  period  of  over  twenty  years  from  the  date  of  the  first 
patent,  we  deem  it  proper,  before  proceeding  with  the  historical 
annals  of  the  town,  to  devote  a  few  pages  to  a  discussion  of  its 
original  settlers  and  patents,  prior  to  that  date. 

I. 

In  the  consideration  of  Hans  Hansen  Bergen's  patent  at  the 
Waaleboght  (vol.  i,  pages  88  to  95),  it  will  be  remembered  that  we 
reached  and  somewhat  exceeded  the  boundary  line  between  the 
towns  of  Brooklyn  and  Bushwick.  This  boundary  line,  which, 
according  to  the  earliest  patent  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  was 
identical  with  Bergen's  northerly  bounds,  might  be  designated  on 
the  map  of  the  present  city  of  Brooklyn,  by  a  line  drawn  from 
the  East  river,  following  the  course  of  Division  avenue,  to  about 
at  its  junction  with  Tenth  street,  and  from  that  point  extending 
in  a  somewhat  south-easterly  direction  towards  Newtown. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  g05 

Adjoining  this  land  of  Bergen's  on  the  north,  was  a  triangular 
tract  of  land,  included  between  the  present  Division  avenue, 
South  Sixth  street,  and  the  East  river,  which  was  granted  by  the 
"West  India  Company,  on  the  7th  of  September,  1641,  to  Lambert 
Huybertsen  Moll,  a  ship  carpenter,1  who  had  purchased  it  from  one 
Cornells  Jacobsen  Stille,  on  the  29th  of  the  preceding  month.2 
This  plantation,  which  will  be  recognized  as  comprising  what  lias 
more  recently  been  known  as  the  Peter  Miller  Farm,  the  11  try 
Farm,  and  Boerum's  Woods,  is  described  in  this  ancient  patent,  as 

"  A  certain  piece  of  land  lying  on  Long  Island,  on  the  East  river  of  the 
New  Xetherland,  near  the  Creek  of  Rinnegaconck,  formerly  occupied  by 
Cornells  Jacobsen  Stille,3  containing  25  morgens  [50  acres],  bounded  on  the 
south  in  breadth  by  Hans  Hansen  [Bergen],  the  breadth  of  the  said  land 
appearing  by  the  mark  of  the  West  India  Company,  cut  in  a  tree,  where  it 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  East  river."  4 

Moll  probably,  left  these  parts  about  1663,  in  March  of  which 
year  he  received  a  patent  of  land  at  Esopus.5 

This  property  was  afterwards  sold  to  Jacobus  Kip,  "  of  Kipsburg, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,"  to  whom  it  was  confirmed  by  Governor 
Nicolls,  on  February  26th,  1667.6  During  his  occupancy  a  block- 
house was  established  for  the  safety  and  defense  of  the  AVallabout 

1  Butch  Manuscnpts,  vnr,  256. 

3  Dutch  Manuscripts,  I,  251.     In  this  it  is  described  as  "  a  house  and  plantation." 

3  In  the  confirmatory  patent  to  Kip,  in  16G7,  this  person  is  called  Styssen. 

4  Liber  G  Dutch  Patents,  p.  43.  The  boundaries  here  described,  which  are  some- 
what obscure,  are  explained  by  the  confirmatory  patent  of  Xicolls  in  10(>7  :  in  which, 
after  the  recital  in  the  words  of  the  original  grant,  occur  the  following  words,  "  and  on 
yo  North  it  goes  [i.  e.  from  thence  it  extewls  north]  along  ye  river  225  rods  [deep]." 
This  and  synonymous  words  in  the  deed  of  the  heirs  of  Kip  to  Bobin,  in  1093.  sufficient  ly 
identify  the  lands  included,  and  show  that  a  line  225  rods  deep  at  right  angles 
from  the  East  river  shore,  passed  over  the  space  between  the  Brooklyn  line  and  the 
line  of  the  West  India  Co.,  so  as  to  include  the  50  acres  since  known  as  the  MUl&r 
•fid  Berry  farms,  and  probably  Boerum's  Woods.  These  Boerum's  Woods,  together 
with  land  known  as  John  Skillman's,  containing  together  about  10  acres  (being  an 
overplus  in  the  measurement  of  the  original  patent)  passed  after  Bobin's  death  into 
the  hands  of  Ab'm  Corson.  (See  a  map  of  partition  between  the  sons  of  Tennis 
Bogart,  deceased,  drawn  by  Englebert  Lott). 

6  O'CaHayhan,  n,  592. 
8  Patents,  liber  n,  175. 

39 


306  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

settlers,  upon  its  high  ground  overlooking  the  East  river,  probably 
near  its  northerly  part,  towards  Kieke  or  Lookout  point.1  Kip 
died,  seized  of  this  estate,  prior  to  the  year  1693,2  in  which  year 
his  widow  and  executrix,  Maria  Kip  and  Johannes  Kip,  brewer  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  conveyed  it  to  James  Bobin,  a  resident  of 
Long  Island.3  Bobin,  who  is  sometimes  called  Jacob  or  Jacobus 
Bobin,  continued  in  possession  of  this  farm,  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  about  the  year  1741. 4  No  evidence  has  been  found  as  to 
how  this  title  passed  from  the  family  of  Bobin.  But  a  partition 
map  of  a  part  of  the  Abraham  A.  Remsen  and  the  Abraham 
Boerum  farms,  made  in  1769  by  Englebert  Lott,  marks  this  land 
as  belonging  to  Abraham  Corson  or  Carson.  This  is  undoubtedly 
identical  with  the  name  and  family  of  Carshow  or  Cershow,  as 
the  owners  next  found  in  possession,  interchangeably  spelled  their 
name.5  At  all  events  the  land  is  known  to  have  been  in  posses- 
sion of  one  Abraham  Kershow,  prior  to  1761,6  and  was  by  him 
devised  to  his  sons  Jacob  and  Martin,  who  were  in  possession  in 
1786.     Mutual  partition  deeds  were  executed  between  the  brothers, 


1  See  vol.  i,  pages  113  to  115. 

2  Jacob  Kip  was,  in  1653,  secretary  to  the  burgomaster  of  New  Amsterdam  ;  and- 
in  1655,  lie  was  appointed  vendue  master  of  the  court  of  orphan  masters.  He  re 
signed  his  clerkship  in  June,  1657,  but  continued  in  office  until  he  had  finished 
transcribing  the  records.  He  was,  for  some  years,  alderman  of  the  Out  ward  of  the 
city.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  resided  in  Bush  wick,  or  on  this  farm,  nor  does 
his  name  appear  on  assessment  rolls,  etc. 

3Liber  n,  Conveyances, -page  26,  office  clerk,  Kings  Co.,Bobin's  house  is  designated 
on  Ratzer's  map,  and  also  on  Gen.  Johnson's  map  of  Brooklyn  during  the  Revolution, 
and  of  the  Wallabout  during  the  same  period,  the  latter  of  which  is  contained  in  the 
first  volume  of  this  work.  m 

4  A  deed  from  Gysbert  Bogert  to  Gysbert  Bogert,  Jr.,  of  a  part  of  the  farm  since 
owned  by  Ab'm  A.  Remsen,  dated  December  23,  1729,  bounds  north-easterly  by  land 
of  Jas.  Bobin.  A  deed  from  Gysbert  Bogert  to  Jeremiah  Remsen,  dated  June  27, 
1741,  of  same  land,  bounds  north-easterly  by  land  of  Jas.  Bobin  ;  and  a  deed  of  same 
land  by  Jeremiah  Remsen  to  his  son  Ab'm  Remsen,  dated  January  28,  1742,  bounds 
north-easterly  by  land  of  James  Bobin,  deceased,  showing  a  presumption  of  his  death 
between  June  27,  1741,  and  January  28,  1742. 

5  Also  Kershow  or  Karshow.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  these  variations  are 
merely  corrupt  spellings  of  a  French  name  and  pronunciation. 

6  See  deed  of  Ab'm  Schenck  to  Andries  Conselyea,  Kings  Co.  Registrar  Office, 
liber  vi,  Deeds,  p.  192,  dated  June  5,  1773. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  oq7 

on  the  23d  of  June,  1786,1  Martin  taking  the  southerly  half,  and 

Jacob  the  nortlierly  half  of  the  farm.  Martin's  portion  was 
finally  sold  in  pursuance  of  a  chancery  decree,  in  1820,  and  passed 
into  the  possession  of  Jacob  Berry,  and  has  since  been  known  ad 
the  Berry  Farm.  Jacob  Kershow's  portion  passed,  in  1790,  to 
Peter  Miller,2  who  died  in  1816,  and  his  estate  was  divided  be- 
tween his  two  sons,  David  P.  Miller,  who  took  the  northerly  por- 
tion, which  he  afterwards  sold  to  Daniel  S.  Griswold,3  and  John 
P.  Miller,  who  received  the  southerly  part  which  he  sold,  in  1823, 
to  Abraham  Meserole. 

II. 

The  next  plantation  to  Moll's, on  the  north,  was  that  belonging 
to  his  son  Meyer  Lambertsen  (Moll4)  to  whom  it  was  patented 
March  23,  1646.     In  this  patent  it  was  described  as 

11  Lying  at  [or  near]  the  East  point,  or  cape  of  Marechawieck,  it  extends 
along  the  beach  of  the  East  river  north  by  north-east  a  little  easterly,  135 
rods  further  towards  and  into  the  woods,  south-easterly  by  easterly  100  rods; 
then  east  by  north  50  rods  j  then  1 50  rods  south-easterly  by  south.  Its 
breadth  behind  in  the  woods  southward  80  rods,  again  to  the  strand,  till  to 
the  place  of  beginning  north-west  by  west  a  little  westerly  316  rods  ;  amount- 
ing in  all  to  57  morgens,  339  rods."  5 

This  was  evidently  on  the  West  India  Company's  original  pur- 
chase, and  extended  northwardly,  from  Moll's  land,  over  nearly  all 
what  was  known  subsequently  as  the  Meserole  or  Keikout  farm* 

1  Kings  Co.  Registrar's  Office,  liber  xxviii,  Deeds,  p.  268. 

*  Deed  lost,  but  proved  in  1822  to  have  been  in  Peter  Miller's  possession. 

*  Kings  Co.  Conveyances,  liber  xvi,  345. 

*  According  to  the  Dutch  custom,  he  took  the  patronynic  Lambert  as  his  final  name. 
b  Dutch  Manuscripts,  G.  G.,  140. 

8  March  29,  1G47,  one  Jan  Petersen  Van  Amsterdam,  also  known  as  Jan  Petersen 
Boron  (or  Borsje),  received  a  patent  for  a  parcel  of  land,  on  Long  Island,  coming  to 
the  river  between  Ryer  Lambertsen  and  Claes  de  Normans,  according  to  the  marks, 
containing  four  morgens.  {Dutch  Manuscripts,  Q.  G.,  204),  Claes  de  Norman  was 
GLaes  Carstaensen,  who  owned  the  land  next  adjoining  tin's  Meserole  farm,  on  the 
north.  It  seems  evident,  therefore,  that  the  farms  of  Ryer  Lambertsen  and  Jan 
Petersen  Borsin  occupied  the  space  between  Moll's  land  near  the  Wallabout  and 
Carstaensen's. 


308  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Reyer  Lambertsen  (Moll),  in  February,  1657,  obtained  a  patent 
of  a,  lot  near  Fort  Casimer,  on  the  Delaware,  or  South  river,1  and 
probably  removed  thither.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1667,  one 
David  Jochems  received,  from  Governor  Nicolls,  a  confirmatory 
patent  for  the  above  farm,  in  which  it  is  set  forth  that  Lambert 
Herbertsen  Moll,  the  father  of  Reyer  Lambertsen  (Moll),  "  who 
had  lawful  power  so  to  do,"  had  conveyed,  on  the  24th  of  December 
1666,  to  David  Jochems  the  said  premises  which  are  described  a8 
"  lying  on  the  East  Hook  or  corner  of  the  fence  belonging  to 
Mareckawick,"  with  the  same  general  boundaries  as  in  the  original 
patent. 

David  Jochems,  of  New  York,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1670, 
deeded  this  land,  described  "  as  property  at  Marechkawyck,  for- 
merly belonging  to  Ryer  Lambertsen,"  to  Teunis  Jansen  Van  Pelt.2 

This  farm,  which  may  be  described  as  now  bounded  by  the 
East  river,  and  a  line  beginning  near  the  foot  of  South  Seventh 
street,  extending  to  the  junction  of  South  Sixth  with  Seventh 
street,  from  thence  to  about  the  junction  of  Sixth  street  with 
North  First,  thence  to  the  East  river,  and  comprising  some  107 
acres  —  is  next  found  in  possession  of  Jean  Mesurolle  (Meserole), 
a  native  of  Picardy,  in  France,  who  came  to  this  country  in 
April,  1663,  together  with  his  "wife  and  sucking  child,"  in  the  ship 
Spotted  Cow.3  No  deed  or  patent  has  ever  been  discovered, 
which  will  enable  us  to  fix  upon  the  manner  or  the  time  of 
MeseroleVentrance  upon  the  occupancy  of  this  estate. 

At  all  events  he  died  seized  of  it,  in  1695  ;  and,  on  the  proving 
of  his  will  in  1717,  twenty-two  years  after  his  demise,  it  was 
testified  by  a  witness,  who  had  known  the  testator  for  nearly 
twenty  years  before  his  death,  that  he  always  owned  this  farm, 
but  no  deed  or  document  title  was  produced  or  alleged  to  be  in 
existence.  It  was  named,  and  known  to  within  a  very  late  day, 
as  the  Keikout  farm,  which  appellation  was  derived  from  a  small 
point  of  land  jutting  into  the  East  river,  from  near  the  foot  of  the 
present  South  Fourth  street,  used  in  ancient  days  as  a  keike,  or 


1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  Patents,  H.  H.,  75.    2  Court  Assizes,  Council  Minutes,  n,  499. 
3  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  in,  62. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  3Q9 

lookout,  for  Indians.1  Jan  Meserole  left  a  widow,  Jonica,  to 
whom  he  devised  his  entire  estate,  and  an  only  son,  Jan,  Jr.,  who 
would  have  taken  the  estate,  under  the  laws  of  primogeniture 
then  in  force  in  the  colony,  had  Ids  father  left  no  will.  Conse- 
quently, regarding  himself  as  sole  heir-at-law  of  his  mother,  he 
made  no  attempt  to  prove  his  father's  will,  as  a  matter  not  likely 
to  affect  the  descent  of  the  estate,  if  not  directly  from  the  father 
to  the  son  through  the  mother.  By  his  will,  made  in  1710,  and 
proved  in  1712,  be  attempted  to  devise  the  premises  to  his  two 
sons  John,  3d,  and  Cornelius.2  Unfortunately,  he  died  only  five 
days  before  his  mother  Jonica,  who,  if  the  will  of  her  husband, 
John  the  elder,  had  been  duly  established,  would  have  died  seized 
of  the  freehold;  and  the  same  could  not  pass  under  the  will  of 
John,  Jr.,  he  never  having  owned  the  property,  either  by  heirship, 
or  otherwise.  Some  five  years  after  the  death  of  John,  Jr.,  as 
above,  his  eldest  son  John,  3d,  produced  proofs  of  his  father's 
will  in  chancery,  and  by  making  these  proofs  relate  back  to  the 
grandfather's  death,  and  claiming  the  entire  estate  as  sole  heir-at- 
law  of  his  grandmother  Jonica,  under  the  laws  of  primogeniture, 
he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  chancery  judgment,  excluding  his 
brother,  Cornelius,  from  his  rights  under  their  father's  will,  and 
vesting  the  property  entire  in  himself.3     Ha  remained  in  posses- 


1  This  name  came  finally  to  be  applied  to  the  whole  shore,  or  rather  the  highland, 
overlooking  it,  through  the  present  Fourth  street,  and  southward  to  the  Boerum 
land,  and  so  down  to  the  Wallabout  bay.  The  road,  also,  leading  down  to  these 
farms  from  the  country,  which  subsequently  became  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
jirxt  chartered  village  of  Williamsburgh,  was  called  the  Keikout  road. 

2  The  will  of  Jan  Meserol,  Jr.,  of  Turtle  bay  (New  York),  dated  Oct.  10,  1712. 
proved  Dec.  26,  1712  (liber  vm,  Wills,  ?.  149,  Office  Surrogate  of  New  York  county), 
mentions  daughters.  Margaret  Deroe,  Deborah  Oatts,  and  Jane  Meserole.  Numerous 
slaves  were  included  in  the  estate.  He  appointed  His  wife  Mary,  executrix,  and  gives 
to  her  all  the  Turtle  bay  farm,  stock,  etc..  together  with  live  hands,  or  slaves,  viz  ; 
Polly,  an  Indian  woman,  and  her  child  :  Tom  and  Joe,  two  negro  boys,  and  Hetty,  a 
negro  girl,  ten  acres  of  land,  two  acres  of  meadow,  etc.,  to  (ZfopoM  of  at  hi  r  pleasure. 
In  this  he  shows  a  spirit  of  liberality,  far  ahead  of  the  day  in  which  he  lived  ;  tor  it 
was  a  general  custom  among  the  Dutch  then,  to  devise  property  to  their  wii  -  - 
long  only  as  they  remained  widows. 

3 These  facts  are  derived  from  the  original  exemplified  copy  of  the  Chancery  re- 
cord, in  possession  of  Mr.  Abraham  Meserole.  Jr.,  of  New  York  city. 


310 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


sion  until  his  death,  in  1756,  when  he  devised  it  to  his  sons  Peter, 
John,  Jacob,  Abraham  and  Isaac,  subject  to  certain  legacies  to  be 
paid  to  his  daughters ; l  and  fearing,  perhaps,  that  some  of  his 
children  might  follow  his  example,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  other 
heirs,  he  specially  provided  that  any  of  them  commencing  any 
suit  of  law  about  his  estate,  either  real  or  personal,  should  be  cut 
off  from  his  share  by  the  executors. 

Meserole's  heirs  subsequently  disposed  of  the  estate  as  follows : 
that  portion  since  owned  by  Noah  Waterbury  and  G.  &  G.  C.  Fur- 
man,  was  sold  to  Skillman  the  husband  of  their  sister  Sarah.  A 
parcel  of  some  twelve  acres,  near  the  present  Grand  street  ferry, 
was  sold  by  Isaac  Meserole  to  the  elder  Frances  Titus;  and  the 
balance  of  the  property  was  released  to  Abraham  Molenaer  (alias 
Miller)  and  by  his  will,  dated  August,  1779,  was  devised  to  his 
sons.  The  Meserole  family,  after  the  sale  of  the  Keikout  farm, 
became  somewhat  scattered,  and  Jacob  and  Abraham  removed  to 
Greenpoint.2 


Old  Miller  House. 


The  old  Meserole  homestead,  or  Miller  House,  of  which  we  pre- 
sent a  view,  was,  within  the  memory  of  many  persons  now  living, 


1  Liber  xx,  Wills,  p.  171,  Surrogate's  Office,  New  York  county. 

2  Jacob  Meserole,  son  of  John  3d,  may  have  removed  to  Green  point  prior  to  his 
father's  death,  as  we  have  a  memorandum  of  a  deed  from  John  Meserole  to  Jacob 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  311 

a  dilapidated  structure  standing  on  a  projecting  bluff,  facing  the 

Fast  river,  on  the  northerly  side  of  South  Fourth  street,  a  little 
east  of  First  street.  The  time  of  its  erection  cannot  he  pre- 
cisely stated,  though  the  presumption  is  that  it  was  nearly 
coeval  with  the  first  settlement  of  the  town. 

The  parcel  of  twelve  acres  above  mentioned  as  having  been 
purchased  by  Francis  Titus,  was  by  him  given,  together  with 
other  lands,  to  his  youngest  son  Charles.  Adjacent  to  the  south 
side  of  this  gift,  Charles  Titus  owned  a  farm,  which  he  purchased 
of  Thomas  Skillman,  husband  of  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Meserole 
in  1785,  some  twenty-eight  acres.  Charles  Titus  is  described  as 
an  active  and  intelligent  man,  who  occupied  the  offices  of  super- 
visor, justice  of  the  peace  and  town  clerk  of  Bushwick,  but  after 
the  death  of  his  wife  (Sarah,  daughter  of  Folkert  Rapalye  of 
Brooklyn),  he  gradually  became  intemperate,  improvident  and 
careless.  Before  his  death,  about  1802,  fifteen  acres,  including 
land  received  as  a  part  of  the  above  mentioned  as  a  gift  from  his 
father,  was  sold  by  him  to  Samuel  Titus,  of  Newtown.  Titus 
released  his  deed  to  Richard  M.  Woodhull,  who  laid  out  the 
property  into  city  lots,  and  named  the  place  WILLIAMSBURGH. 

By  Charles  Titus's  will,  the  balance  of  his  estate  was  vested  in 
his  sons  Folkert  and  Charles  ;  the  former  receiving  the  homestead 
farm,  subject  to  a  payment  of  £1100  to  his  sisters,  and  the  latter 
taking  the  adjoining  farm,  originally  purchased  from  Thomas 
Skillman,  subject  to  a  similar  payment  of  £900.  These  legacies 
thus  charged  in  their  father's  will,  being  paid  on  the  same  day  by 
both  brothers,  and  full  releases  given  for  the  same  by  their  sisters 
and  their  husbands,  the  respective  farms  came  into  the  possession 
of  Folkert  and  Charles  Titus. 

Charles  married  Anne  Jenkins  a  niece  of  Justus  Thompson  of 
Bushwick,  and  resided  on  his  farm,  until  his  decease,  without 
issue,  on  the  28th  of  October,  1807. 

Meserole,  dated  September  4th,  1750,  of  sixty-four  acres  of  clear  land,  which  the  said 
John  had  purchased  of  Peter  Praa  at  (Praas  point),  between  Maspeth  and  Norman's 
kill.  In  the  description  in  this  deed,  one  of  the  corners  runs  to  a  stake  standing  to 
the  south  of  Jacob's  house."  We  infer  from  this,  Jacob  must  have  resided  at  this 
time  on  the  father's,  which  he  occupied  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


312     •  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Folkert  Titus,  however,  sold  his  portion,  the  original  homestead 
farm,  to  Thomas  Morrell,  squandered  the  money,  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  army,  was  wounded  at  the  taking  of  Fort  George 
in  Canada,  returned  to  Bushwick  in  1815,  and  after  remaining 
there  some  three  years,  went  to  South  Carolina,  where  he  died 
intemperate,  and  unmarried. 

Morrell,  the  purchaser  of  Folkert  Titus's  farm,  sold  out  parcels 
to  Thomas  Hazard,  the  widow  Titus,  the  mother  of  Tunis  Wort- 
man,  to  David  Cannon  and  others.  And  shortly  after,  he,  together 
with  Hazard,  mapped  out  the  balance  of  the  farm  into  city  lots, 
secured  the  grant  of  a  ferry,  and  commenced  the  establishment  of 
a  city  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Yorkton,  in  the  fond  antici- 
pation of.  rivaling  Williamsburgh. 

IH. 

We  next  proceed  to  consider  the  patents  comprising  the 
land  lying  between  the  northerly  line  of  the  Meserole  farm,  and 
Bushwick  creek;  and  between  the  East  river  and  a  line  drawn 
about  equidistant  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets,  from  the  junc- 
tion of  that  branch  of  the  creek,  which  now  rises  near  Ninth  and 
Grand  streets,  to  the  north-westerly  corner  of  the  Meserole 
patent.  These  patents,  three  in  number,  belonged  respectively 
to  Claes  Cariensen,  sometimes  termed  "  Claes  the  Norman, "  l  to 
George  Baxter,  the  English  secretary  to  the  Dutch  council,2  and  to 
David  Andrus  or  Andriese.3 

Carstensen's  patent  was  granted  to  him,  by  Director  Kieft, 
September  5th,  1645,  in  these  words  : 

"  Land  for  a  plantation,  lying  on  Long  Island,  in  the  rear  of  Jan  de 
Swede  extending  along  the  river,  217  rods,  beginning  at  the  Halve 
Hook  [half  corner]  inclusive,  and  into  the  woods  south  south-west,  180 
rods;  further  on  south,  45  rods;  west  by  south,  51  rods;  and  further  on 
to  the  river  north-west,   100  rods;  amounting  in   all  to  29  morgens,  553 

1  So  named  in  his  marriage  license,  1646,  also  as  "  from  Norway." 

2  For  further  information  of  this  somewhat  notorious  individual,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  Brodhead's  History  of  New  York. 

3  If  Andrus,  he  must  have  been  an  Englishman,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  the 
latter  name,  Andriese,  is  the  correct  one,  in  which  case  he  was  a  Dutchman. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  313 

rods;   [attached]   to  the  said  laud,  is  also  given  him  the  half  of  the  marsh 
lying  '-'"  the  kill."  l 

Baxter's  patent  is  dated  July  6th,  1643,  and  is  as  follows : 

■  25  morgens,  lying  on  Long  Island,  back  on  [along]  the  kil  of  Dirck  the 
Norman,  extending  in  front  by  the  valley  in  length,  50  rods,  and  on  the 
side  of  Dirck  the  Northman  into  the  woods,  150  rods,  and  back  in  the 
woods  in  breadth,  150  rods,  and  further  on  to  the  side  of  Jan  de  Swede's 
in  the  length  of  a  bend  of  the  marsh."  -  This  would  seem  to  have  been  at 
the  head  of  Bushwick  creek. 

Of  Andriese' s  patent  we  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  record. 

It  is  not  probable  that  any  of  these  individuals  ever  occupied 
their  farms.  Baxter  became  a  patentee  for  Gravesend  in  1645, 
was  subsequently  much  employed  in  public  affairs,  and  finally, 
on  account  of  his  political  rascalities,  was  obliged,  in  1656,  to  leave 
the  country  ;  of  Andriese  nothing  whatever  is  known,  and  Cars- 
taensen  in  some  way  became  possessed  of  their  shares  of  this 
property.  At  all  events,  on  May  15th,  1647,  a  tract  of  some  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  described  as  having  formerly  been  in 
the  possession  of  Carstaensen,  Baxter  and  Andriese,  was  granted 
by  the  governor  and  council  to  Jan  Forbus.3  On  the  21st  Feb- 
ruary, 1660,  this  property  was  transferred  to  Peter  Jans  de 
Norman,4  whose  widow  subsequently  married  Joost  Cockuyt.5 
He  sold  the  farm  to  Paulus  Richards,  on  the  14th  of  August, 
1664,  and  Richards  took  out  a  confirmatory  patent  for  the  same, 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  Patents,  G.  G.,  113. 

*  Dutch  Manuscripts,  G.  G.,  76  ;  described  as  "in  rear  of  Dirck  the  Norman." 

*  Dutch  Manuscripts,  G.  G.,  217.  It  is  specified  as  sixty-five  morgens  with  marsh, 
or  meadow.  Forbus,  as  is  evident  from  Dutch  Manuscripts,  n,  97,  had  this  plantation 
(and  paid  for  it  in  part)  from  Carstensen. 

4  Mortgage  of  this  property  in  April,  1649,  Dutch  Manuscripts,  in,  34. 

6  Or  Kookuyt.  He  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  in  1687,  as  having  been  in  the  country 
twenty-seven  years,  which  would  fix  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  1660.  "  Joost  Jansen, 
Cocqunt,  from  Flanders,"  as  the  marriage  record  says,  was  married  October  6,  1662,  to 
Lysbet  Jansen,  widow  (see  Valentine's  Man  ualfor  1861,  p.  652).  She  was  married  to 
her  first  husband  Peter  Jans  the  Norman  (Pieter  Jansen,  from  Norway,  as  the 
marriage  record  calls  him),  July  7,  1647  (see  Valentine's  Manual,  1861,  p.  643),  and 
is  then  mentioned  as  coming  from  Amsterdam. 

40 


314  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

December  3,  1667,  from  Gov.  Nicolls.1  These  lands  are  then  lost 
to  the  records  for  the  forty  years  next  subsequent,  but  at  length 
are  found  vested  in  Teunis  Mauritz  Covert,  of  Monmouth,  N.  J., 
a  son  of  Mauritz  Covert,  whose  widow  An  tie  Fontyn  married 
Francis  Titus  of  Bushwick.  By  his  deed,  dated  May  16,  1719,  it 
was  conveyed  to  this  Francis  Titus,  "  his  loving  father-in-law,"  and 
is  described  as  the  farm  then  occupied  by  the  grantor,  of  fifty-eight 
acres,  together  with  the  one-half  the  meadow  valley  lying  on  the  creek,  in 
the  precise  words  of  the  early  patents.2 

This  Francis  Titus  was  a  son  of  Capt.  Titus  Syrachs  de  Vries, 
who  was  part  owner  of  a  grist  mill  at  New  Utrecht,  in  1660.3  He 
seems  to  have  married  a  second  wife,  Elizabeth,  and  died  about 
1760,  leaving  five  sons  named  Francis,  John,  Jan,  Charles  and 
Titus,  and  five  daughters  named  Antie,  Helena,  Elizabeth,  Aentje, 
Jannetie  and  Christina.  He  resided  on  what  has  since  been 
known  as  the  Col.  Francis  Titus  farm,  in  Williamsburgh,  con- 
sisting of  fifty-eight  acres  of  upland  and  about  four  acres  of  meadow, 
to  which  he  added  forty  acres  adjoining  on  the  easterly  side,  by 
purchase  of  one  William  Latin,4  and  about  twelve  acres  near  the 
present  Grand  street  ferry,  bought  of  Isaac  Meserole,  and  being  a 
part  of  the  original  Keikout  farm.  He  also  purchased,  from 
Joseph  Skillman,  the  northerly  half  of  the  Jacob  Boerum  farm  in 
the  Sixteenth  ward  of  the  present  consolidated  city,  about  twenty- 
five  acres,  and  also  acquired,  probably  through  his  wife,  a  title  to 
between  twenty  and  thirty  acres,  east  of  the  present  Bushwick 
avenue.  He  also  had  a  share  of  the  New  Bushwick  lands,  of 
about  forty  acres,  mentioned  in  his  will  as  the  woodland  he  bought 
of  Abraham  Duryea;  and  he  had  another  portion  of  woodland 
purchased  from  Nicholas  Wyckoff. 

1  Liber  Patents,  n,  Secretary  State's  office,  Albany. 

2  Conveyances,  liber  iv,  Office  Clerk  of  Kings  Co.  It  appears  from  this  deed,  that 
Francis  Titus  had  faithfully  supported  and  educated  the  grantor ;  as  well  as  the  other 
children  of  Mauritz  Covert. 

3  See  Biker's  History  Newtown,  L.  I.,  p.  133).  Francis  Titus  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  Dutch  family  (for  there  is  also  an  English  family  of  the  name  on  Long  Island),  of 
Titus,  once  quite  numerous  in  Bushwick.     The  name  was  pronounced  Teetus. 

4  The  Sharp  and  Sutphen  title  is  derived  from  this  Latin  purchase,  a  portion  of 
which  was  devised  by  Francis  Titus  (will  dated  November  1,  1758),  to  his  son  Jan. 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  815 

This  property  was  devised  bj  his  will,  proved  in  IT'IL1   to  hia 
sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Francis,  occupied  the  homestead  farm, 

and  also  acquired,  in  addition  to  this,  some  eighteen  acres  of  land 
hy  purchase  of  one  David  Woortman,  situated  between  the  present 
Sixth  and  Ninth  streets,  and  mostly  between  Grand  and  North 
First  streets.  He  died  May  14,  1801,  leaving  the  homestead  to 
his  son  known  as  Col.  Francis  Titus,2  and  who  built  a  house, 
which  yet  remains  standing,  cornerwise  to  First  street,  near  North 
Sixth,  and  is  now  used  as  a  grog  shop. 

IY. 
East  of  the  farms  of  Meserole  and  Carstensen  lay  that  of 
Jan  de  Swede,  or  John  the  Sweed.  Its  bounds,  in  the  absence  of 
any  recorded  patent  or  deed,  cannot  be  precisely  stated,  but  from 
allusions  in  deeds  of  contiguous  property,  etc.,  it  is  probable  that 
it  comprised  most,  if  not  all  of  the  land  bounded  south  by  the 
farms  of  Bergen  and  Moll ;  on  the  west  by  those  of  Meserole  and 
Carstensen ;  and  on  the  east  by  the  ancient  road  known  as  the 
Sweed's  Fly.  This  road  (the  course  of  which  will  be  best 
understood  by  a  reference  to  the  map),  marked  the  easterly  bounds 
of  Jan  de  Swede's  meadow,  which  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
westerly  boundaries  of  the  township  of  Bushwick,  in  its  patent 
of  1687,  and  was  itself  the  easterly  boundary  of  the  first  chartered 
village  of  Wiliiamsburgh,  in  1827.  John  the  Swede's  meadow, 
therefore,  was  between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets  ;  and  possi- 
bly, he  was,  also,  the  original  proprietor  of  the  back  lands  owned 
by  Wortmans.  He  seems  to  be  first  mentioned  in  Baxter's 
patent,  in  1643. 

John  by  will  (dated  September  9, 1794,  Kings  Co.  Wilis,  liber  i,  182),  crave  all  his  farm 
to  Francis,  son  of  his  brother  Johannes,  deceased.  This  Francis  (J).  Titus.  |  May  :;o, 
1799,  Kings  Co.  Wills,  liber  I,  276),  devised  equal  shares  to  his  two  sons  Johannes 
and  George.  His  estate  not  being  sufficient  to  pay  his  debts,  this  parcel  of  seventeen 
acres  was  sold  to  David  Van  Cott,  R.  M.  Woodhull  and  John  Boerum.  Van  Cott  sold 
his  share  to  John  Skillman, and  in  1826,  it  was  sold  to  John  Bntphen  (King's  Co. 
Convey.,  liber  xx,  182),  who  sold  half  to  Peter  Sharp  (Kings  Co.  Conccy.,  liber  \\iv. 
300. 

1  Wills,  liber  xxiv,  p.  415,  Xew  York  Surrogate's  Office. 

2  Wills,  liber  I,  p.  347,  Kings  county  Surrogate's  Office. 


316  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


The  extensive  tract  between  Jan  the  Sweed's  land  and  Bush- 
wick  avenue,  comprising  land,  which  subsequently  contained 
nearly  one-third  of  the  city  of  Williamsburgh,  was  owned,  a  little 
more  than  a  century  ago,  by  one  Daniel  Bordet.  This  is  design- 
ated on  our  map  as  lands  of  John  Devoe,  William  P.  Powers, 
Abraham  Meserole,  James  Scholes,  Abraham  Remsen,  Conselyea 
McKibbin  and  Nichols,  and  others.  The  Remsen  and  Scholes 
parcels  were  conveyed  by  Bordet  and  Annetie  his  wife,  May  3, 
1750,  to  Abraham  Remsen,  the  father  of  A.  A.  Remsen.  The 
Miller).  And  land  was  devised  to  David  Yan  Cott,  probably 
William  P.  Powers  parcel  was  equally  devised  by  his  (Bordet's) 
will,1  to  three  grandchildren,  Maria,  Annetie  and  Elizabeth, 
children  of  his  daughter  Maria,  wife  of  Abraham  Mollenaer  (alias 
that,  on  our  map,  of  Van  Cott,  and  of  Conselyea ;  and  to  John 
Devoe,  probably  identical  with  that  marked  on  the  map  as  "  heirs 
of  John  Devoe." 

VI. 

In  the  year  1667,  Gov.  Nichols  patented  to  one  Humphrey  Clay, 
then  of  the  city  of  New  York : 

"  Lands  lying  and  being  within  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Bushwick,  over 
against  the  land  of  Richard  Britnells  [of  Newtown],  stretching,  as  by  the 
survey  it  doth  appear,  along  the  west  side  of  the  [Newtown]  creek,  210  rods, 
and  on  the  south  side  from  the  first  mark  standing  by  the  creek-side, 
along  the  land  of  Uddens,  to  the  land  or  mark  in  a  certain  white  oak  tree 
west,  and  by  south  and  east  and  by  north,  110  rods,  and  from  the  mark 
along  the  land  of  Laurens  Petersen,  to  a  mark  in  a  walnut  tree,  north-west 
and  by  north  and  south-west  and  by  south,  8  rods,  and  from  the  said  tree 
along  the  forest  land,  upon  the  north  and  south  line,  to  a  mark  in  a  chestnut 
tree,  80  rods,  and  from  that  tree  to  a  mark  in  a  small  tree  at  the  creek-side ; 
north  north-east  and  south  south-west  35  rods,  according  to  the  known  old 
marks."  2 

1  Wills,  liber  xxv,  p.  350,  New  York  Surrogate's  Office. 
3  Date  June  24,  1667.    See  Patents,  n,  58. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  017 

This  tract,  lying  on  both  sides  of  what  La  now  Meeker  avenue, 
adjoining  Newtown  creek,1  had  just  been  patented  to  Adam  Mutt, 
in  August,  1646,  by  him  transported  to  William  Goulding,  and 
by  him  transferred  to  Claude  Berbine  and  Anthony  Jerve,  of 
Maspeth  kil.  These  parties  on  the  7th  of  January,  1653,  con- 
veyed the  property,  "  with  the  houseing  thereupon,"  to  Jacob 
Steendam.  And  "  whereas  the  said  Jacob  Steendam,"  says  the  old 
patent  to  Clay,  "hath  been  absent  and  gone  out  of  this  country, 
for  the  space  of  eight  years,  during  which  time  the  houseing, 
which  was  upon  the  said  land,  is  wholly  come  to  ruin,  and  the 
land  hath  been  neglected  and  unmanured,  without  any  care  taken 
thereof,  by  the  said  Jacob  Steendam,  or  any  that  hath  lawful 
power  from  him,  contrary  to  the  laws  established  in  such  cases, 
within  this  government,"  the  said  land  was  declared  to  be  forfeited. 
And  therefore,  "  to  the  intent  that  no  plantation  within  this 
government  should  lie  waste  and  unmanured,  and  that  a  house, 
or  houses  may  be  built  upon  the  old  foundations,  as  also,  for 
divers  other  good  causes,  and  considerations,"  the  same  was  fully 
granted  to  Humphrey  Clay.  Clay  probably  came  to  New  York, 
from  New  London  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  where  he  had 
been  an  inn-keeper,  perhaps  from  as  early  a  date  as  1655.  In 
1664,  he  was  fined  40s.  and  costs,  for  keeping  an  inmate  contrary 
to  law,  and  his  wife  Katherine  was  "  presented  for  selling  liquors 
at  her  house,  selling  lead  to  the  Indians,  profanation  of  the  sab- 
bath, card  playing  and  entertaining  strange  men."  Upon  trial 
before  the  court  of  assistants,  Mr.  Clay  and  wife  were  convicted 
of  keeping  a  disorderly  house,  and  fined  £40,  or  to  leave  the 
colony  within  six  months,  in  which  case  half  the  fine  was  to  be 
remitted.  They  chose  the  latter  course  and  removed,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  New  York,  and  then  in  1667  to  Bush  wick.2  Perhaps  he 
came  over  to  Long  Island  somewhat  before  this,  as  in  1666,  he 


1  Described  on  Field's  map  of  Williamsburgh  and  (-Jn-enpoint,  1852,  as  land  belong 
ing  to  heirs  of  John  Waters,  Anthony  Hoist,  and  Ed.  Bridges,  and  adjoining  the 
south-easterly  side  of  the  farm  late  of  Lambert  Wyckoff. 

4  Miss  Caulkins's  New  London,  pp.  88,448  ;  Hi n man's  Catalogue  of  Purita n  Settler* 
of  Connecticut,  (larger  edition),  p.  61G.  Also  Savage's  Gcneal.  Dictionary,  Neu 
England. 


318  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

married  a  second  wife,  Sarah,  the  widow  of  James  Christie,  of 
Newtown.1  As  late  as  1670,  he  was  keeper  of  the  ferry  at  Mespat 
kill,  between  Newtown  and  Bush  wick.  The  creek,  at  this  time, 
was  crossed  above  by  a  bridge  on  the  old  highway  from  Brooklyn 
to  Newtown,  and  both  the  road  and  bridge  being  so  badly  out  of 
repair,  as  to  occasion  not  only  inconvenience,  but  danger  to  life 
and  limb,  attracted  the  notice  of  the  court  of  sessions,  who 
directed  the  two  towns  to  take  immediate  measures  to  have  the 
bridge  repaired,  and  the  road  to  be  cleared ;  "  their  several  new 
fences  having  blocked  up  the  usual  old  way,  which  causes  many 
inhabitants,  as  well  as  strangers,  to  lose  themselves  in  the  woods."2 
Humphrey  Clay  himself  was  afterwards  indicted  by  the  grand 
jury  of  Kings  county,  for  closing  up  a  way  over  his  own  farm  to 
the  Newtown  creek,  which  it  was  alleged,  had  been  used  by  the 
townspeople,  as  a  free  way  to  the  creek,  for  forty  years  previous. 
At  his  trial,  however,  in  1702,  he  was  acquitted.3  He  died  on 
this  farm,  and  his  son  and  heir  conveyed  it  to  one  Alexander 
Baird.4 

VH. 

Abraham  Bycken,  or  de  Rycke,  the  progenitor  of  the  pre- 
sent Rycker  families  in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  other  parts 
of  the  United  States,  received  in  1638,  from  Director  Kieft,  an 
allotment  of  land  on  Long  Island,  which  land  has  been  located, 
by  Thompson,  in  Gowanus,5  and  by  Riker  in  the  Wallabout  of 
Brooklyn.6    A  closer  examination  of  the  original  patent,  however, 

1  Hiker's  Annals  of  Newtown,  L.  I.,  p.  59,  marriage  license  granted  by  Gov.  Ni- 
cholls,  June  25, 1666,  Council  Minutes,  n,  77. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  84. 

3  One  Humphrey  Clay  (perhaps  a  son  of  the  above)  being  a  quaker,  at  Beverwyck, 
(Albany)  in  1673,  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  See  Albany  Records,  vol. 
xxiii,  p.  307. 

4  Liber  v,  114,  Kings  Co.  Register,  April,  11, 1717. 

5  History  of  Long  Island,  n. 

6  History  of  Newtown,  301.  It  is  but  justice  to  Mr.  Riker,  to  state,  that  on  sub- 
mitting the  opinion  to  him,  with  the  accompanying  proof,  he  adopted  our  views  — 
saying  in  a  note  appended  to  our  manuscript,  "  that  there  were  other  reasons  for 
locating  Rycker's  farm  at  the  Wallabout.  In  1643,  Rycker's  plantation  is  described 
as  situated  on  Long  Island  by  Remmert  Jansen's  land  (leased  to  Wm.  Hutchinson, 


HISTORY  OP  BROi  >KLYH  8 1 !  I 

has  convinced  us  that  it  was  located  in  the  territory,  then  recently 
purchased  from  the  Indians  by  the  West  India  Company,  which 
afterwards  formed  the  old  town  of  Bushwick. 

The  patent  which  he  took  out  for  this  tract,  August  8,  1*J40, 
specifies  it  as 

"  A  certain  piece  of  land  lying  on  Long  Island,  over  against  Rvunegacanck, 
where  Gysbert  Rycken  lies  on  the  one  si  ,  and  the  highway  leading  to  the 
kil,  into  the  woods  east  north-east  and  west  south-west,  and  Hans  Hansen 
for  the  most  part  lies  next  to  the  said  highway,  containing  along  the  creek 
500  paces  j  to  which  aforesaid  parcel  of  land  is  added  a  third  part  of  the 
hay  meadow,  lying  in  the  rear  of  land  of  Joris  Rapalije  and  Gysbert 
Rycken."  I 

The  expression,  "over  against  Runnegaconck,"  which  we  have 
italicized  above,  probably  led  Thompson  into  his  very  palpable 
error;  and  the  fact  that  Rycken's  patent  is  mentioned  as  contigu- 
ous to  that  of  Hans  Hansen  Bergen,  and  other  well  known  settlers 
in  the  Wallabout,  has  caused  the  similar  error  of  locating  him  in 
that  neighborhood.  We  feel  confident,  however,  that  Rycken's 
land  fronted  500  paces  along  Mespath  or  Newtown  creek,  from 
which  stretching  back  in  an  east  north-east,  and  west  south-west 
dire  ion  it  abutted  in  the  rear  against  the  land  of  Hans  Hansen 
Bergen.2  On  one  side  it  was  bounded  by  the  highway  to  the 
the  kil,  probably  identical  with  the  old  Brooklyn  and  Newtown 

n.  63,  July  2,  1643).  As  Remmert  or  Rem  Jansen,  was  known  to  have  owned  the 
farm  at  the  Wallabout,  lately  occupied  by  Gen.  Johnson,  it  helped,  tog-ether  with  the 
allusions  in  Rycker's  patent  to  Rennegaconck,  and  the  lauds  of  Joris  Rapelje,  to 
induce  the  conclusion  that  Rycken's  land  lay  in  close  proximity  to  the  Wallabout  ; 
while  the  omission  in  his  patent  of  any  reference  by  name  to  Mespat  kil,  served  to 
divert  attention  from  that  direction.  However,  I  have  full  confidence  in  the  result 
of  your  closer  investigation  of  this  and  the  adjacent  patents."  (J.  k). 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  Patents  G.  G.,  37.  The  original  ground-brief  or  patent  to 
Abraham  Rycken  is  still  in  existence,  and  in  possession  of  Mr.  James  Riker.  It  is 
written  upon  parchment  in  a  neat  Dutch  text,  and  is  probably  the  earliest  of  the 
Brooklyn  patents  extant. 

"Another  translation  of  this  patent  describes  this  land  as  "  stretching  from  the 
kil,  into  the  woods  east  north-east  and  west  south-west  against  Hans  Hansen  [Ber- 
gen], and  along  the  same  and  in  just  [i.e.  the  same,  or  equal],  breadth  along  the 
kil,  500  paces." 


320  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

turnpike,1  mentioned  in  the  previous  article  on  Humphrey  Clay. 
As  to  Gysbert  Rycken's  land,  no  record  exists,  and,  indeed,  about 
the  only  mention  made  of  him  in  our  early  annals,  is  the  refer- 
ence in  the  above  patent.  Newtown  creek,  in  our  opinion,  is  the 
the  only  stream  opposite  Kunnegaconck,  from  which  a  tract  of  land 
could  run  in  a  north  north-east  and  a  west  south-west  line  till 
it  met  with  farm  of  Bergen.  And  Rycken's  patent  therefore 
is  probably  nearly  identical  with  the  lands  embraced  between  the 
creek,  Lombard  street,  Metropolitan  avenue,  and  the  old  road 
running  from  junction  of  Metropolitan  and  Bush  wick  avenues, 
to  Porter  avenue  near  Anthony  street.2  It  is  by  no  means 
probable,  that  he  ever  settled  or  improved  this  grant,  for  in 
1642,  he  is  found  at  Nieuw  Amsterdam,  where  he  resided  for 
many  \ears  on  his  own  lot  in  the  present  Broad  street.  He  and 
his  wife  were  also  members  of  the  Dutch  church  within  Fort 
Amsterdam,  where  most  of  his  children  were  baptized.  In  1654, 
he  received  a  patent  for  a  farm  in  Newtown,  at  a  place  called  the 
Poor  bowery,  to  which  was  afterwards  added  the  island  called 
Biker's  island;  and  on  this  farm  he  resided  until  his  death,  in 
1689.3 

This  land  of  Eycken's  in  Bushwick,  or  a  portion  of  it  with  an 
addition  of  the  meadows  as  far  as  Luquier's  mill,  is  afterwards 
found  in  possession  of  one  Jochem  Verscheur,4  who  in  1712, 
conveyed  it  to  Cornelius,  Johannes  and  David  Van  Catts,  by 
whose  family  name  it  has  since  been  known.5 

1  Now  Bushwick  and  Meeker  avenues.     See  map. 

2  Designated  on  map  as  lands  of  Beadel,  C.  &  Gr.  Debevoise,  Wm.  Cooper  and 
Joseph  Conselyea. 

3  Biker's  Newtown.  For  a  careful  and  interesting  genealogy  of  the  Hiker  family, 
see  page  299. 

4  Wills,  liber  v,  84,  Kings  county  Surrogate's  Office. 

5  This  deed,  dated  April  1,  1712  (Record,  June.  1737,  in  liber  v,  Kings  county  Con- 
veyances, p.  84),  specifies  the  farm  "  as  it  is  now  in  fence,  and  in  the  tenure  and 
occupation  of  said  Jochem,  containing  150  acres,  be  it  more  or  less,  and  bounded 
north  by  land  of  Humphrey  Clay,  north-east  by  Mespath  kil,  so  called ;  and  south- 
east by  a  meadow,  and  by  lands  of  heirs  of  Wm.  Luquier,  deceased  ;  west  by  com- 
mon highway,  and  north  by  land  of  Peter  De  Witt,  deceased."  Also  a  house-lot, 
bounded  south  and  west  by  common  highway,  north  in  rear  by  land  of  John  Luquer, 
etc. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  .,-_] 

Yin. 

Green-Point.  The  greater  part  of  the  present  17th  ward  of  the 
city  of  Brooklyn,  was  known  from  its  earliest  settlement  as 
Green-Point,1  being  in  fact,  a  neck  of  land  embraced  between 
Ifaspeth  kil,  now  Newtown  creek,  and  Norman's  kil,  now  Bush- 
wick  creek.2  It  was  originally  granted,  in  1645,  to  Dirck  VolckerU 
sen,  surnamed  the  Norman  ; 3  and  was  by  him  conveyed,  Sept. 
9th,  1653,  to  Jacob  Hey.4  The  fact  is  also  recited  in  a  confirm- 
atory patent  granted  by  Governor  Lovelace,  on  May  1st,  1670,  to 
David  Jochems  (who  had  married  Christina  Cappoens,  the  widow 
of  the  said  Hay),  in  the  following  words : 

■  Whereas,  Dirck  Volkertse  [the  Norinan],  did.  by  virtue  of  a  ground-brief 
granted  to  him.  bearing  date  ye  3d  of  April,  1645,  transport  and  make  over 
upon  ye  9th  day  of  September,  1653,  unto  Jacob  Hay,  a  certain  piece  of 
land  upon  Long  Island,  lying  and  being  at  Mespath  kil,  beginning  from  y- 
hook  or  point  of  ye  said  kil,  and  so  going  along  by  ye  river  south-west  and 
by  west.  75  rods,  then  stretching  alongst  Mespath  kil,  south-east  and  by  south, 
200  rods  from  Mespath  kil  into  ye  woods,  striking  south-west  and  by  west 
75  rods,  then  going  back  to  ye  river  side  almost  upon  a  north-west  and  by 
north  line,  200  rods:  it  contains  about  50  acres  or  25  morgens.  And,  also, 
a  parcel  of  valley  or  meadow  ground  in  ye  tenure  or  occupation  of  yc  said 
Dirck  Volkerse,  at  ye  end  of  ye  said  land  in  breadth,  and  in  length  90  rods, 
making  about  12  acres,  or  6  morgens." 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1682,  David  Jochems  and  Christina 
Cappoens,  executed  a  sort  of  double  will,  quite  lengthy  and  curious 
in  its  details,  whereby  he  devised  the  whole  of  his  property  to  his 

1  Thompson' 8  History  of  Long  Island,  n,  156,  second  line,  Green  hooke,  or  Green 
point,  is  a  mistranslation  ;  the  original  being  Hout  hoek,  or  Wood  point. 

'See  Supreme  Court,  Samuel  I.  Hunt  vs.  James  Cunningham,  Jabez  Williams, 
John  T.  Williams  and  Samuel  Sneden.  Copies  of  Documents,  F.  K.  Tillou,  Attorney, 
New  York,  1855. 

'Volkertsen,  whose  business  was  that  of  a  ship  carpenter,  lived  on  the  northerly 
side  of  Bushwick  creek,  near  the  East  river,  in  an  old  stone  house,  which  was  de- 
molished some  years  since,  and  on  the  site.  Messrs.  Samuel  Sneeden  and  Jabes 
Williams  built  large  and  fine  dwellings.  Vblkertsen,  in  old  documents,  is  frequently 
called  Dirck  the  Xorman,  and  thus  from  his  lands  and  dwelling  in  that  vicinity, 
Bushwick  creek  derived  its  ancient  name  of  Norman's  kil. 

*  Dutch  Manuscript  Patents,  H.  H.,  46. 

41 


322  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

wife,  and  she,  in  turn,  devised  her  whole  property  to  her  hushand, 
and  to  Maria  Hayes,  a  daughter  by  her  first  husband.  The  pro- 
perty was  to  be  held  wholly  by  David  Jochems,  until  the  said 
Maria  Hayes  should  become  of  age,  or  married,  when  it  was  to 
be  divided.  This  will,  which  shows  Christina  Cappoens  to  have 
been  quite  a  wealthy  woman  for  those  days,  was  admitted  to  pro- 
bate, July  7,  1682.  This  daughter,  Maria  Hayes  married  first 
Joost  Adriaense  Molenaer,  and,  in  1684,  after  his  death,  Captain 
Peter  Praa  of  Newtown,  the  son  of  Peter  Praa,  a  highly  respectable 
Huguenot  exile  from  Dieppe,  in  France,  who  came  to  this  country 
with  his  family  in  1659,  and  died  in  Cripplebush,  March  6,  1663. 
Captain  Praa,  who  was  born  at  Leyden,  in  1655,  during  his  par- 
ent's temporary  stay  at  that  place,  was  a  man  of  much  enterprise 
and  public  spirit.  After  his  marriage  he  spent  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life  at  Bushwick,  where  he  commanded  the  militia,  and 
was  especially  distinguished  for  his  superior  skill  in  horseman- 
ship. In  September,  1693,  his  mother-in-law  Christina  Cappoens, 
widow  of  Jochems,  and  who  then  resided  in  New  York,  by  a 
codicil  to  a  will  dated  June  17,  1687,  gave  to  her  daughter  Maria 
Hayes,  her  "small  house  with  land  from  rear  to  front,"  situated  in 
the  city,  also  "  land  or  bowery  and  meadow,  lying  on  Mespath  Kil 
now  by  lease  possessed  by  herself  and  her  husband  "  in  trust  for  her 
two  grandchildren  Sara  Molenaer,  daughter  of  Maria  (Hayes) 
Praa  by  her  first  husband  Joost  Adriaensen  Molenaer,  and  Catrina 
Praa,  by  her  second  husband  Captain  Praa.  Praa  was  to  enjoy 
the  use  of  this  bouwery  or  meadow,  after  his  wife's  death,  but  in 
case  of  his  remarriage  he  was  to  pay  10,000  guilders,  wampum 
value,  to  the  executors  of  the  estate.1 

Having  thus  become  possessed,  by  inheritance,  of  a  portion  of 
the  Yolckertsen  patent,  Captain  Praa  purchased  the  balance,  in 
1719,  from  Dirck,  Philip  and  Nicholas  Yolckertsen,  sons  of  the 

1  The  widow  Jocliem  also  bequeaths  to  her  granddaughter  Sarah  Molenaer,  the 
great  house  and  lot,  in  New  York  where  she  then  resided,  and  in  case  of  her  death  it 
was  to  pass  to  the  other  granddaughter  Catrina  Praa. 

She  also  releases  her  negro  woman  Isabella  from  servitude  of  all  sorts,  and  be- 
queaths to  her  her  daily  wearing  clothes.  The  daughter  of  this  woman  Lysbett  is 
to  be  the  slave  of  Maria  Hayes  Praa,  but  to  be  freed  at  madame  Praa's  death. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN 

original  patentee.  By  a  deed,  dated  March  1G,  1718-19,  and  in 
consideration  of  the  sum  of  £1,625  to  them  paid,  lie  became  the 
owner  of  the  farm  "  situate,  lying  and  being  at  a  place  commonly 
known  or  called  Norman's  kil,  within  the  limits  of  Bushwyck  town 
in  Kings  county,"  described  as 

"  Containing  by  estimation  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  acres,  be  the  same 
more  or  less,  butted  and  bounded  as  follows,  via  :  Beginning  at  a  place  com- 
monly called  the  Hont  Poynt,  upon  Norman's  kil.  and  running  along  the  high- 
way unto  the  fence  of  Peter  Jansen  de  Witt,  deceased,  and  thence  along  the 
fence  of  the  said  Peter  Jansen  de  Witt,  unto  a  small  creek  that  runs  into 
Mespath  kil.  and  so  aloug  the  west  side  of  said  creek,  until  it  comes  to  the  mea- 
dow of  Annetie  Scamp,  and  so  along  the  meadow  of  Auuetie  Scamp,  until  it 
comes  to  the  upland  of  said  Dirck.  Philip  and  Nicholas  Folkers  [Vrolkertsen], 
(meadow  being  about  one  acre  of  meadow  or  thereabout,  be  it  more  or  less),  and 
then  along  the  upland,  until  it  comes  to  the  meadow  of  John  Mezeroll.and  so 
along  the  meadow  of  the  said  John  Mizeroll.  until  it  comes  to  the  fence  of 
Peter  Praa.  and  thence  all  along  the  fence  of  the  said  Peter  Praa  until  it 
comes  to  the  riyer  called  the  East  riyer.  and  round  Xorman's  kil.  unto  the 
place  where  it  first  began."  ' 

In  addition  to  this  property,  he  acquired  large  tracts  in  various 
places,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  Dominies  hook,  in  Xew- 
town,  which  he  purchased  from  the  heirs  of  Anneke  Jans,  of 
Trinity  church  notoriety. 

Peter  Praa  lived  in  an  old  stone  dwelling  house  upon  the  farm, 
since  of  David  Provoost,  near  the  meadow  on  the  east  side  of 
Green-Point.  This  old  house  and  the  Provoost  farm,  on  the  death 
of  Praa  and  his  wife,  came  into  the  possession  of  their  daughter, 
Christina,  the  wife  of  David  Provoost,  and  was  occupied  by  her, 
during  the  summer  months,  she  being  a  resident  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  until  her  death  about  1795.  From  that  time,  it  was 
occupied  by  her  descendants  until  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1832,  or 
the  premises  bounded  by  the  East  river,  H,  I,  and  Washington 

The  executors  of  this  will  were  Nicholas  Bayard,  mayor  of  the  city,  Jacobis  Ver- 
hulst  (whose  place  being  made  vacant  by  his  death,  was  filled  by  codicil  by  Mr.  Rip 
Van  Dam) ;  and  her  good  friend,  Mr.  John  Etarpendeigh,  all  wealthy  and  prominent 
citizens  of  New  York. 

1  Conveyances,  liber  cxxxiii,  p.  138,  Kings  Co.  Register  office. 


324  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

'33,  after  which  David  Provoost,  her  great  grandchild,  and  the 
father  of  Hon.  Andrew  J.  Provoost,  built  the  house  now  occupied 
by  his  son-in-law,  J.  W.  Valentine,  on  its  site. 

Capt.  Peter  Praa  died  in  1740,  and  by  will  his  dated  in  1739, 
divided  his  property  to  his  children.  These  were  Catherine,  born 
in  1685 ;  Maria,  born  in  1688,  who  married  Wynant  Van  Zandt, 
and  died  before  her  father,  leaving  two  sons,  Peter  Praa,  and 
Johannes  Van  Zandt;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1691,  who  married  Jan 
Meserole  (and  to  whom  was  devised,  "  all  that  tract  or  lot  of  land 
and  meadow,  which  I  purchased  from  Dirck  Volkertsen,  adjoining 
to  the  land  I  now  live  on,  upon  the  west  side  thereof,  bounded 
easterly  by  lands  of  John  Meserole,  and  to  begin  at  the  lands  of 
said  John  Meserole,  and  to  run  northerly  on  the  north-east  side, 
as  the  fence  stands,  and  on  the  south-west  side  by  a  ditch,  till 
both  lines  come  to  the  river)."  Anna,  born  in  1694,  who  married 
one  William  Bennett ;.  2d,  Daniel  Bordet,1  and  received  all  the 
Dominies  hook  property  in  Newtown ; 2  and  Christina,  born  in 
1698,  who  married  one  David  Provoost ;  2d,  Rev.  John  Aronda, 
and  who  received  property  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  in  the  discussion  of  the  Meserole 
patent  (ante  304),  two  of  Jan  Meserole's  sons,  Jacob  and  Abra- 
ham, after  the  sale  of  the  Keikout  farm,  removed  to  Green  Point, 
where  they  settled  on  land  which  their  father  had  purchased  from 
Peter  Praa.3  Jacob  devised  his  share,  by  will,  dated  July  18, 
1782,4  to  his  wife,  for  life,  with  remainder  in  fee  to  his  sons, 
Peter  and  John;  who,  in  1791,  made  a  division,  Peter  occupy- 
ing the  northerly  half,  and  John  the  southerly.5  Abraham,  who 
died  in  1801,  was  the  father  of  John  A.  Meserole,  who  inherited 

'The  same  Daniel  Bordet  mentioned  on  page  310. 

2 "  Except  the  little  island  in  the  said  piece  of  land,  which  I  will  my  old  negro, 
Jack,  shall  have  so  long  as  he  lives,  to  maintain  himself  out  of  it,  and  if  he  cannot 
maintain  himself  from  it,  then  he  shall  have  his  choice,  which  of  my  children  he 
will  live  with,"  otherwise  the  island  was  to  revert  to  Anna  Bordet,  and  to  her 
children  after  her. 

3  Deeds,  dated  January  4,  1749  -  50,  and  Feb.  4,  1750.  This  land  was  on  the  north 
side  of  the  old  Wood  point  road.  Jacob  may  have  resided  at  Green-Point  before  his 
father's  death. 

4  Wills,  liber  I,  14,  Kings  Co.  Surrogate's  office. 

6  Liber  xliii,  452,  Kings  county  Registrar  Office. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

streets,  on  which  he  lived  for  many  years,  and  died  intestate,  in 
1833.  One  of  his  daughters,  Mary,  married  Neziah  Bliss,  who 
now  resides  upon  this  very  property,  and  in  the  old  Meserole 
mansion,  on  the  banks  of  the  East  river,  which  house  has  been 
recently  enlarged  and  modernized.  Thus  by  purchase,  and 
through  their  mother,  the  greater  part  of  the  Praa  estate  came 
into  possession  of  the  Meserole  family.1 

That  portion  granted  by  Praa  to  his  daughter  Annetie  Bodet, 
descended  to  her  son  William  Bennet  (see  page  318)  who  died  in 
possession,  in  1805,  having  owned  it  upward  of  twenty  years.  It 
was  by  him  devised  to  his  sons  Tunis  and  Richard,  and,  in  1813, 
was  sold  at  auction,  under  foreclosure  of  mortgage,  and  purchased 
by  Ammon  T.  Grilling.  After  his  death  in  1814,  it  remained  in 
possession  of  his  heirs,  until  1834,  when  it  passed  to  Gen.  Jeremiah 
Johnson,  who  in  1835,  conveyed  it  to  Mr.  Neziah  Bliss,  and  he  in 
1835  and  '42  transferred  it  to  Eliphalett  Xott.2 

Of  the  more  modern  history  and  progress  of  Green-Point,  the 
reader  will  be  fully  informed  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

"  There  were,"  says  Mr.  Steams  in  one  of  his  published  articles  on  this  sub- 
ject, "  considerable  tracts  of  land,  to  which  neither  patent  nor  possessory 
titles  were  acquired  for  many  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  place.  These 
lands  were  known  as  commons,  and  embraced  several  pieces  of  meadow  on 
Newtown  creek,  and  a  space  of  land  by  Ninth  street,  and  North  First  and 

1  Jan  Meserol,  had  sons,  Jacob1  and  Abraham2.     Jacob1  had  sons,  Peter3  and  John.4 

Peter3  had  eleven  children.     John*  married  Elizabeth ,  and  died  in  1831  ;  his 

children  were  Francis  and  John5.     John5  died  Feb.  1,  1850,  leaving  widow,  Hannah 

and  children  Jacob,  Francis  T.,  John  H.,  Elizabeth  T.  (wife  of  S.  F.  A.  Shonnard) ; 

William  R.,  Cornelia  (wife  of  B.  U.  Shreve) ;  George  W.,  Sarah  A.,  Hannah  M..  Petei 
A. :  ( Jaroline  (wife  of  Abraham  Vandervoort).  Note.—  Capt.  John,  in  1847,  in  order  to 
make  the  division  lines  of  estate  more  certain,  in  conjunction  with  his  uncle  Peter's 
heirs,  deeded  and  dedicated  Union  (now  Norman  avenue)  street,  running  east  and 
west,  and  60  feet  wide. 

Abraham  A.;1  had  John  A.,  who  died  August  12, 1833,  wife  Magdalen—  children, 
Gertrude  (wife  of  Wm.  Sackett) ;  Abraham,  John,  died  1842 ;  Peter  A.,  Archibald 
K..  Mary  Ann  (wife  of  Nezia  Bliss);  Jeremiah,  died  in  1837  :  Christina  (wife  of 
Cornelius  Van  Cleef ),  died  1822. 

a  See  also  deed  of  Peter  Praa  Van  Zandt,  merchant  of  New  York,  to  Jacob  Bennet, 
Jr.,  of  Kings  Co.,  L.  I.  (April  23,  1776),  of  land  devised  to  him  and  his  brother 
Johannes,  by  liis  grandfather  Praa,  for  £440,  reserving  the  right  of  burying  in  the  pri- 
vate burying  ground  of  the  Provoost  family.     This  burial  place  is  still  in  existence. 


326  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Second  streets,  in  Williamsburgh,  said  to  have  been  left  "open  for  the  con- 
venience of  watering  the  cattle  of  the  neighborhood,  as  it  embraced  a  pond 
of  fresh  water  that  emanated  from  the  springs,  which  the  new  Water 
Company,  recently  incorporated,  1854,  have  proposed  to  appropriate  in 
supplying  our  city  with  water.  This  common  embraced  between  one  and 
two  acres  of  land,  and  is  mentioned  in  old  deeds  before  the  year  1700.  A 
legal  controversy  concerning  the  title  to  this  common,  may  be  noticed  here- 
after. Besides,  the  meadow  lands  and  the  commons  referred  to,  the  town  of 
Bushwick  in  the  rights  of  all  its  several  freeholders  assumed  to  own  the 
tract  of  land  known  as  New  Bushwick,  embracing  most  of  that  part  of  the 
town  south-east  of  the  Cross  roads,  or  the  present  Brooklyn  and  Newtown 
turnpike  road.  Whether  this  claim  of  title  was  based  on  a  special  grant,  or 
assumed  as  an  incident  of  the  charter  of  Gov.  Nicoll,  I  am  not  advised.  It 
is  well  known  that  all  the  several  freeholders  in  the  town  claimed  to  be 
seized  of  an  undivided  share  as  tenants  in  common  of  the  New  Bushwick 
lands.  The  deed  from  the  executor  and  the  heir  of  Jacob  Kip,  of  the  Berry 
and  Peter  Miller  farm,  we  have  mentioned  as  having  been  executed  to  James 
Bobin,  in  1693,  conveys,  with  the  land  it  particularly  describes,  all  the  right, 
title  and  interest,  which  the  said  Jacob  Kip  had  in  the  common  lands  at  New 
Bushwick,  from  which  we  infer  that  the  partitions  of  these  lands  had  not  then 
been  made.  This,  however,  was  effected  previous  to  the  year  1703  ;  when, 
as  we  have  mentioned,  we  find  that  the  several'  owners  of  those  lands  were 
in  possession  from  East  New  York  along  the  Brooklyn  line. 

"  John  Meserole*,  son  of  the  John  Meserole  mentioned  above,  by  his  will, 
dated  in  1710,  proved  1712,  devises  to  his  wife  Mary,  also  one  piece  of  upland 
lying  at  New  Bushwick,  between  John  Prau's  land  and  Francis  Titus,  contain- 
ing about  45£  acres  {NeivYork  Surrogate's  Records,  liber  vin,  Wills,  p.  149). 

"  The  quantity  of  land  allotted  to  most  of  the  claimants  in  New  Bushwick, 
was  about  40  acres  each.  A  lot  of  land  consisting  of  20  acres,  was  laid  out 
for  the  use  of  the  Dutch  church  of  Bushwick,  as  is  recited  in  their  deed, 
dated  May  1st,  1718,  confirming  a  sale  made  of  the  same,  to  one  Lawrence 
Cook,  in  1701,  and  assigned  by  him  to  one  Jocham,  or  Yoham  Verscheur. 

"  That  it  was  laid  out  by  the  joint  consent  of  all  the  freeholders  of  said 
parish.'  *  *         *  '  Bounded  to  the   lot  of  ground  formerly 

belonging  to  James  Bobin  (1718),  and  bounded  by  the  lot  of  Ouka  Renierse, 
and  further  bounded  by  the  land,  which  did  belong  to  said  Yoham  Verscheur/ 
It  is  also  recited  in  that  deed,  for  the  better  improving  of  said  church's  estates, 
that  said  land  was  sold  at  public  vendue,  by  Jurian  Nagle,  Ouka  Renierse, 
and  Derek  Folkerts,  the  three  deacons  entrusted  by  said  parish,  to  receive 
and  take  the  revenues  and  profits  arising  to  the  said  church.     The  deed  is 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  N 

I  by  Paulus  Van  Enden,  Abraham  Duryee,  Isaac  Bucar.  and  Baron 
Cole,  as  deacons  of  said  church,  at  the  time  this  deed  of  confirmation  un- 
executed. The  original  deed  is  in  the  possession  of  the  heirs  of  William 
Covert,  Esq.j  the  twenty  acres  probably  being  a  part  of  his  farm,  or  that  of 
the  late  Abraham  Duryee,  deceased. 

"These  New  Bushwick  lands  were  probably  reservations  for  woodland,  to 
supply  the  people  with  fuel,  as  old  wills  are  found  devising  the  right  to  cut 
and  carry  away  fuel  to  burn,  but  not  to  sell,  from  parts  of  those  lands 
claimed  by  the  testators.  The  salt  meadows  that  became,  in  separate  parcels, 
appurtenances  of  the  different  homesteads  in  the  town,  were  distributed  at  a 
much  earlier  date.  Many  of  them  were  vested  by  the  original  patents,  and 
all  that  were  capable  of  use  and  improvement  were  made  the  means  of  sus- 
taining the  cattle  of  the  earliest  settlers  through  the  severe  winters  of  those 
times,  before  artificial  grasses  were  cultivated  on  the  uplands.  Some  portion 
of  those  meadows,  however,  were  too  sunken  to  be  of  use,  being  below  the 
ordinary  tides,  and  hence  remained  without  a  claimant,  till  they  were  sold 
within  a  year  or  two  since,  by  the  towns  of  Williamsburgh  and  Bushwick. "  l 

1  We  have  counted  twenty-six  farm  maps,  to  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  pay 
attention,  besides  the  following  sections  of  the  village,  of  which  we  have  seen  no 
farm  map,  but  of  which  such  maps  may  exist,  if  not  filed.  (1).  The  north-easterly 
section  of  the  new  village  of  Williamsburgh,  embracing  land  of  Andrew  J.  Conael- 
yea,  and  others.  (2).  The  land  of  Gen.  Samuel  I.  Hunt,  and  land  late  of  Lewis 
Sanford.  (3).  The  homestead  of  the  late  Col.  Fancis  Titus,  and  seven  acres  of  land 
next  to  Brooklyn,  bought  by  John  Skillman,  Sen.,  in  1807,  of  Barnet  Bloom. 

As  a  matter  of  curiosity,  we  enumerate  the  maps  on  file. 

(1).  The  John  Skillman  farm.  (2).  939  lots,  of  Wm.  P.  Powers.  (3).  G4  lots  of 
Mackerel,  Richardson,  and  others.  (4).  Land  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  (5). 
Meat  role  farm.  (6).  Meserole  homestead.  (7).  Boer um  farm.  (8).  LandofMcKib- 
bin  Xicholls,  including  the  Boerum  farm,  and  all  the  land  in  the  village,  south-east 
of  it.  (9).  Land  of  Abraham  A.  Remsen.  (10).  Land  of  James  Scholls.  (11). 
Land  of  Holmes  Van  Mater.  (12).  Land  of  Abraham  Meserole.  in  the  1st  district. 
(13).  Land  of  John  Miller.  (14).  Land  of  Samuel  Willetts.  (15).  Land  of  Jacob 
Berry.  (16).  Lands,  late  of  Frederick  Devoe.  (17).  Lands  of  G.  C.  &  GK  Furman. 
(18).  Loss's  Map  of  Yorkton.  (19).  Loss's  Map  of  Willamsburgh.  (20).  Poppleton's 
Map  of  Williamsburgh.  (21).  Land  of  Sharpe  and  Sutphen.  (22).  Land  of  heirs 
of  David  Van  Cott.  (23).  Land  of  Frost,  OTIandy,  Butler  and  Sinclair.  (24).  Map 
of  141  lots  filed  by  David  Codwise.  (2."j).  Land  of  the  shore,  water  rights,  etc., 
at  the  mouth  of  Bushwick  creek,  filed  by  Paul  J.  Fisk.  (2G).  Land  of  Robert 
Carnley.  (27).  Land  of  Carnley  and  Waterbury.  (28).  Land  of  Lemuel  Richardson, 
80uth  side  of  Xo.  4th  street.     (29).  Land  of  John  Luther,  on  North  Third  street. 

These  several  farm  maps  in  some  cases  overlay  each  other,  and  are  overlaid  by 
smaller  maps,  which  in  some  cases  do,  and  in  others  do  not,  retain  the  old  farm 
numbers.—  J.  M.  Stearns,  Esq. 


328  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


HISTORY  OF  BUSHWICK,  1660-1708. 


The  scattered  agricultural  inhabitants  of  the  territory  now  com- 
prised in  the  eastern  district  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  seem  to  have 
made  no  attempt  towards  a  regular  settlement,  or  the  organization 
of  a  town  government,  for  a  period  of  over  twenty  years  from  the 
date  of  its  purchase  from  the  natives,  by  the  West  India  Company. 
In  February,  1660,  as  will  be  seen  from  page  113,  of  our  first 
volume,  the  troublous  condition  of  the  times  led  to  the  enforce- 
ment, by  the  government,  of  stringent  precautionary  measures  for 
the  protection  and  safety  of  the  established  towns  upon  the  western 
end  of  Long  island.  "  Outside  residents,  who  dwell  distant  from 
each  other"  were  directed  also  to  "  remove  and  concentrate  them- 
selves within  the  neighboring  towns,  and  dwell  in  the  same ;  " 
because  says  the  order  "  we  have  war  with  the  Indians,  who  have 
slain  several  of  our  Netherland  people."  A  village  and  blockhouse 
was  accordingly  erected  by  the  Waal-boght  residents  during  the 
month  of  March,  1660,  on  the  high  point  of  land,  on  the  East 
river,  near  the  foot  of  the  present  South  Fourth  street,  reference 
to  which  may  be  found  on  pages  113, 114, 115,  of  our  first  volume. 

Simultaneously,  almost,  with  the  issuance  of  the  above  order, 
the  first  steps  were  taken  towards  the  establishment  of  a  settle- 
ment in  another  and  more  remote  portion  of  the  territory.  On 
the  16th  of  February,  according  to  the  record,  "  as  fourteen  French- 
men, with  a  Dutchman,  named  Peter  Janse  Wit,  their  interpreter, 
have  arrived  here;  and,  as  they  do  not  understand  the  Dutch 
language,  they  have  been  with  the  director  general  and  requested 
him  to  cause  a  town  plot  to  be  laid  out  at  a  proper  place;  where- 
upon his  honor  fixed  upon  the  19th  instant,  to  visit  the  place  and 
fix  upon  a  site." 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  :;_.< 

Accordingly,  three  days  after,  on  "  February  19th,  the  director 

general,  with  the  Fiscal,  Xicasius  de  Sille  and  his  Honor  Secretary 
Van  Ruyven,  with  the  sworn  surveyor  Jaques  Corteleau,  came  to 
Mispat  [Mespath]  and  have  fixed  upon  a  place  between  Mispat 
kil  [Newtown  creek]  and  Norman's  kill,  [Bushwick  creek]  to 
establish  a  village;  and  have  laid  out,  by  survey,  twenty-two  house 
lots,  on  which  dwelling  houses  are  to  be  built." 

On  the  7th  of  March,  according  to  the  record  "  Evert  Hedeman, 
having  erected  the  first  house,  between  William  Traphagen  and 
Knoet  Mouris,  near  the  pond,  came  to  dwell  in  the  same."  Other 
houses  were  erected  during  the  same  year. 

Again,  after  the  lapse  of  a  year,  on  "  March  14th,  1661,  the 
director  general  visited  the  new  village,  when  the  inhabitants  re- 
quested his  honor  to  give  the  place  a  name  ;  whereupon,"  taking 
his  inspiration,  no  doubt,  from  its  immediate  surroundings,  "  he 
named  the  town  Bosioijck"  i.  e.,the  Town  of  Woods. 

The  citizens  then  applied  for  the  following  privileges : 

Firstly.  For  pasture-land  for  their  cattle  and  hay  land  for  their  stock, 
which  they  requested  might  be  bounded  as  follows  :  from  the  east  side  of 
Smith's  island,1  southwards  to  the  hills  and  along  said  hills  westward  to  the 
heights  of  Merck's  plantation,'-  and  from  said  heights  northerly,  by  Merck's 
plantation,  to  Bushwick,  being  a  four  cornered  plot  of  ground. 

Secondly.  To  have  meadows  to  mow  hay,  for  their  stock  according  to  the 
landed  rights. 

Thirdly.  To  have  roads  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  the  river  and  kills,  to 
wit :  one  road  between  the  land  of  Hendrick  Willemse  Baker  and  Jan  Cor- 
nelis  Zeeuw ;  the  second  upon  Dirck  Volkertsen  [the]  Norman's  land,  which  is 
named  theWood  Point;  the  third,  over[Jacob]  Steendam's  laud,  to  come  to  Mis- 
pat  kil  •  the  fourth,  over  Albert  de  Norman's  land  to  get  hay  and  other  things. 

Fourthly.  That  all  the  citizens  who  dwell  within  the  limits  aud  jurisdic- 
tion of  the.  town  of  Bushwick,  aud  already  have  village  lots,  shali  remove  to 
the  same,  according  to  the  order  of  the  director  general. 

1 Biker' 's  Newtown,  p.  51.  This  island  is  now  known  as  Furman'soi  Bfaspeth's  island. 
It  was  previously  occupied  by  the  settlement  of  Aernhem,  which  was  broken  up  by  or- 
der of  the  director  and  council  in  the  spring  of  1661,  and  its  grant  to  Boswyck  was  the 
occasion  of  a  dispute  which  was  waged  between  tin'  towns  of  Bushwick  and  Newtown, 
until  1769.     A  detailed  account  of  this  matter  will  be  found  in  Biker's  Newtown. 

J  Marcus  de  Suson,  who  had  a  plantation  near  Cripplebush,  Smith's  island. 

42 


330  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Fifthly.  This  is  undersigned  by  the  citizens,  viz  : 

1.  Peter  Janse  Wit,  13.  Francisco  de  Neger, 

2.  Evert  Hedeman,  14.  Pieter  Lamot, 

3.  Jan  Willemse  Yselstyn,  15.  Carel  Fontyn, 

4.  JanTilje,  16.  Henry , 

5.  Kyck  Leydecker,  17.  Jan  Catjouw, 

6.  Hendrik  Willemsen,  18.  Jan  Mailjaert, 

7.  Barent  Gerritsen,  19.  Hendrick  Janse  Grever, 

8.  Jan  Hendricksen,  20.  Gysbert  Thonissen, 

9.  Jan  Cornelisen  Zeeuw,  21.  Joost  Casperse,1 

10.  Barent  Joosten,  22.  Willem  Traphagen, 

11.  Francois  de  Puij,  23.  Dirck  Volkertse, 

12.  Johannes  Casperse, 

The  governor  also  took  occasion  to  call  the  attention  of  those 
living  outside  of  the  village  to  the  great  danger  to  which  they 
were  exposed,  and  to  recommend  their  instant  removal  to  the 
greater  security  now  offered  them  by  the  erection  of  a  number  of 
neighboring  dwellings.1  He,  furthermore,  commanded  the  vil- 
lagers to  nominate  six  of  their  number,  from  whom  he  would 
select  three  as  magistrates  for  the  town  of  Boswyck.  The  people, 
therefore,  nominated  six  of  the  most  prominent  of  their  number, 
viz :  Gysbert  Theunis,  Jan  Catjouw,  Ryck  Leydecker,  Peter 
Janse  Wit,  Jan  Cornells  Zeeuw  and  Jan  Tilje,  of  whom  the  last 
three  were  selected  by  the  governor  and  confirmed  as  magistrates 
of  Boswyck,  by  the  following  proclamation  of  March  25,  1661. 

"  The  director  general  and  council  of  New  Netherland.  To  all  those  who 
shall  see  these  or  hear  them  read,  Health :  Be  it  known,  that  for  the  public 
good,  for  the  further  promotion  and  increase  of  the  newly  begun  village  of 
Boswyck,  and  for  the  more  convenient  administration  of  justice,  they  have 
thought  necessary  to  establish  in  the  aforesaid  village,  a  subaltern  bench  of 
justice,  which  shall,  provisionally,  consist  of  the  following  named  com- 
missaries, viz:  Pieter  Jansen  Wit,  Jan  Tilje,  and  Jan  Cornelis  [Zeeuw]. "- 


Ancestor  of  the  Newtown  Springstons,   a  Dutchman  and  brother  of  Johannes 
Casperse. 

See  also  Butch  Manuscripts,  ix,  562. 

2  O'Callaghun,  n,  430 ;  Dutch  Manuscripts,  ix,  570,  date  March  31,  1661. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  331 

The  subaltern  court  of  justice  thus  appointed,  entertained,  "  at 
the  first  instance,  all  questions,  actions  and  disputes  which  may 
occur  in  said  village  between  man  and  man,"  also  all  "  criminal  acts 
originating  in  faults,"  etc.,  except  judgments  of  over  fifty  guilders, 
which  might  be  appealed  from.  Boswyck,  like  Xew  Utrecht, 
having  no  schout  of  its  own,  was  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
Hegeman,  the  schout  of  Breuckelen,  Amersfoort  and  Midwout,  and 
the  district  became  thenceforth  known  as  the  Five  Dutch  Towns. 

The  village  seems  to  have  had  a  rapid  accession  of  new  settlers, 
for  in  May,  1661,  we  find  the  magistrates  preferring  the  following 
request : 

"  To  the  honorable  general  and  council  in  Xew  Xetlierland. 

We  [desire  to]  represent,  with  all  due  respect,  that  the  new  settlers  of  the 
village  of  Boswyck.  who  accepted  the  new  lots,  are  much  in  need  of  some 
meadows,  on  which  [account]  we  have  chosen  ten  men  to  make  a  search  for 
meadow  land  which,  so  far  we  know,  is  not  already  disposed  of  by  deed. 
There  are  only  a  few  meadows,  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  village, 
near  their  lands,  but  these  they  need  themselves,  and  we  have  no  other  of 
which  we  have  not  informed  them.  But  the  aforesaid  ten  men  explored  the 
meadows  where  every  person  mows,  who  arrives  there  first  [i.  e.  common 
meadows],  viz: 

"  At  Smit's  island  [now  known  as  Furman's,  or  Maspeth 

island],         ...-  .  6  morgen. 

Adjoining  it,  formerly  the  land  of  Elbert  Elbertsen,  who 

was  killed  by  the  savages,  ...         _         4  morgen. 

Two   lots  of  Severy  Oesis,  who  also  was  murdered  by 

the  savages,  ..-..-  .5  morgen. 

About  a  morgen  in  the  woods,  in  fresh  vleyen,  4  morgen. 

Total  22  morgen. 

"  Therefore,  it  is  their  humble  request,  as  well  as  ours,  to  the  general  and 
council,  that  these  ten  men  may  enjoy  the  use  of  the  aforesaid  meadows, 
inasmuch  as  they  have  taken  the  new  lots,  because  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  reside  in  our  village,  if  they  can  obtain  no  meadows,  not  knowing  where 
they  could  mow  any  grass.  Supplicating  most  humbly  that  they  may  be 
favored  by  the   director  general   and  council,   and   expecting  your  honor's 

answer  hereto,  we  remain,  &c, 

u  Peter  Jans  de  Wit, 

Leclercq, 

Jan  Cornelissen  [Zeeuw]." 


332  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

To  this  request,  the  authorities  returned  a  favorable  answer, 
providing  that  the  said  lands,  if  not  included  in  any  previous 
patents,  might  be  granted  and  laid  out  in  lots,  by  the  commissaries 
of  Boswyck.1 

In  March,  1662,  the  magistrates  of  Boswyck  received  from  their 
fellow  citizens  the  following  request  :2 

"  The  community  of  Boswyck,  finds  that  the  path,  which  was  formerly 
laid  around  two  spots  of  underwood,  and  which  makes  a  circuit  of  nearly  a 
mile  before  it  reaches  the  water,  is  of  little  or  no  use,  when  they  most  need 
it ;  inasmuch  as  the  owners  of  the  land  now  threaten  us,  although  the 
director  granted  us  this  wood,  which  they  now  take  by  forcible  possession, 
and  obstruct  all  the  path  to  it,  which  course,  we  find,  is  actuated  by  passion. 
Wherefore,  our  request  to  the  commissaries  now  is,  that  the  paths  shall  be 
to  the  west  of  the  village,  one  rod  distance  from  the  gate,  and  straight  along 
the  side  of  the  valley  [meadow],  and  then  running  in  a  straight  course  to 
the  kil,  to  the  spring  of  the  well,  and  so  again  along  the  length  of  Henry 
Backer's  land,  and  that  of  Barent  Gerritse,  and  so  along  the  meadow  side, 
and  then  in  a  straight  course  in  the  path  to  the  wood.  This  is  solicited  by 
the  undersigned,  written  on  the  24th  of  March,  1662. 

"Jan  Willemsen,  Andries  Backer,-J- 

Everhardt  Hedeman,         Gilbert  Thomas,-|- 
Geertje  -f-  Jansen,  Byck  Ly decker, 

Wessel  -f  Grerritse,  Johan  Remsen, 

Joost  -{-  Casperts,  Dirck  Volkertsen, 

Jan  -\-  Cornelissen,  Jan  -j-  Catjouw, 

Barent  Gerritse,  Hendrik  Barent  Smith, 

Willem  Traphagen,  Johannes  Casperse, 

Gerret    -f-  Petersen,         Barent    Gerritsen    con- 
Carel  -j-  Fonteyn,  sents  as  far  as  his  land 

extends  in  the  road." 

This  request  was  presented  to  the  council  by  the  magistrates, 
who  also  desired  "  that  a  few  hovels,  which  though  decayed  were 
yet  remaining  on  the  place  of  New  Arnheim,  might  be  either  re- 
moved or  demolished,  lest  they  should  again  be  occupied  by  any 
person  who  might  prove  a  detriment  to  the  village."3 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  ix,  635.    2  March  24,  1662,  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  97. 

8  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  99,  March  30, 1662.    The  director  had  already  refused 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  333 

Again,  at  a  meeting  of  the  council,  May  25th,  was  "  presented  and  read 
the  petition  of  Peter  Jansen  Trimbel,  requesting  permission  to  make  a  con* 
cmtnition  of  four  families  on  his  land,  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  Nor- 
man's kil,  as  this  would  accommodate  the  village  of  Boswyck  to  bring  there 
their  canoes  and  schuyts."     The  request  was  granted.1 

On  the  28th  of  December,  following  (1602)  "  the  magistrates  of  the  village 
of  Boswyck,  appeared  before  the  council,  representing  that  they  in  their 
village,  were  in  great  need  of  a  person  who  would  act  as  clerk  and  school- 
master to  iustruct  the  youth;  and,  that,  as  one  had  been  proposed  to  them, 
viz  :  Boudewyn  Manout,  from  Crimpen  op  de  Lecq','~  they  had  agreed  with 
him,  that  he  should  officiate  as  voorleser  or  clerk,  and  keep  school  for  the 
instruction  of  the  youth.  For  his  [services]  as  clerk  he  was  to  receive  400 
guilders  in  [wampum]  annually ;  and,  as  schoolmaster,  free  house  rent  and  fire- 
wood. They  therefore  solicited,  that  their  action  in  the  matter,  might  meet 
the  approval  of  the  director  general  and  council  in  Nieuw  Netherland,  and 
that  the  council  would  also  contribute  something  annually  to  facilitate  the 
payment  of  the  said  salary." 

The  council  assented,  and  promised,  that,  after  he  had  been  duly 
examined  aud  approved  by  the  reverend  ministers  of  the  city,  they 
would  lighten  the  annual  burden  of  the  village  by  contributing 
annually/ 25,  heavy  money.3 

Manout  was  afterwards  appointed  court  clerk,  upon  which 
office  he  entered  January  5,  1663.     We  present  here  a  fac  simile, 


taken  from  the  old  Bushwick  records,  of  Manout's  signature, 
curious  for  its  combination  of  the  date  with  the  name. 

May  30th,  1661,  to  allow  Peter  Terragon,  Jacob  Begyn,  and  others  to  reside  at  New 
Arnheim. —  Dutch  Manuscripts,  ix,  637. 

lItrid.,  x,  136,  May  25,  1662. 

a  A  village  in  Holland,  situated  on  the  river  Lock.  Another  of  the  same  name  is 
located  on  the  Meuse. 

3  Butch  Manuscripts,  x,  297. 


334  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In,  December  of  this  year,  the  director  and  council,  hearing 
that  Hendrick  Barent  Smith,  "  in  contempt  of  the  published  and 
recently  renewed  orders,"  continued  to  reside  "  on  his  separated 
plantation  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boswyck,  to  the  detriment 
and  injury  of  said  village,"  ordered  him  to  break  up  his  building 
within  twenty-four  hours;  and  in  case  of  his  default,  the  magis- 
trates were  empowered  to  demolish  it.1 

Amid  the  numerous  evidences  of  increasing  prosperity  among 
the  settlers  of  Boswyck,  during  this  third  year  of  its  existence, 
we  must  chronicle  the  gratifying  and  creditable  fact  that  they 
voluntarily  subscribed  the  sum  of  forty-seven  guilders,  "  to  ransom 
Tunis  Craeyen's  son  Jacob,  then  a  prisoner  among  the  Turks." 
The  list  of  subscribers,2  as  given  in  the  old  Bush  wick  record,  under 
date  of  March  30th,  1662  is  as  follows  : 

Peter  Jan  de  Wit,  -       fl.  10  Francois  de    -         -  -      /.  3 

Jan  Tiljou,  3  Barent  Joosten's ,        -       2 

Jan  Corn.  Zieuw,    -  4  Ryck  Lydecker,      -  -            3 

Pieter  Lamotze,  1  Direk  Volkertse,         -         -        3 

Barent  Joosten,     -  -            4  Jan  Hendricks,      -  -            2 

Jan  Catjouw,  2  Koert  Mauritz,    -       -         -        2 


,    -  2  Jan  Maljaert,         -                     1 

Barent  Grerritse,  2  Gysbert  Teunise,                          4 

Peter  Jan  Wit's ,  -            1  — 

William  Traphagen,  -  -        3  Total           47 

On  the  8th  of  February,  1663,  the  magistrates  of  Boswyck 
stated  to  the  council  that,  whereas; 

"  Several  persons  are  soliciting  permission  to  settle  with  their  families 
within  the  aforesaid  village,  and  whereas,  there  are  at  present  no  lots,  except 
those  which  are  already  occupied,  and  no  others  can  be  found  east  of  the 
village,  except  on  the  land  of  one  Jean  Mailjaert,  a  Frenchman,  and  inas- 
much as  they  had  conversed  with  the  said  Mailjaert,  relative  to  his  parting 
with  a  few  lots  of  his  land,  for  the  accommodation  of  these  new  comers,  to 
which  he  would  not  consent;  which,  indeed,  is  a  great  detriment  to  the 
village  [the  more  so],  as  with  this  design,  a  new  lot  was  granted  to  him,  which 
he  again  abandoned,  therefore  they  request  an  extension  of  the  village  to 
the  limits  first  contemplated." 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  298. 

2  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  n,  24.     Signed  Peter  Jan  De  Wit,  Jan  Corn  Zieuw 
Ryck  Leydeeker,  Le  Selier. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  335 

After  a  full  hearing  of  the  case,  Jan  Mailjaert,  "  as  the  welfare 
of  the  village  of  Boswyck  requires  it,"  was  ordered  to  give  ap 
sufficient  land  for  six  lots,  each  lot  being  six  rods  broad,  and  five 
and  a  half  rods  long,  on  payment  by  the  new  comers  of  25 
guilders  in  seawant,  for  each  lot.1 

April  5,  1663,  Dirck  Volkerts,  Gysbert  Theunis,  Hendrick 
\Yillems,  Barent  Joosten,  Peter  Jansen  Wit,  David  Jochemsen, 
Jean  Mailjaert,  Barent  Gerrits,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Stryker,  acting 
as  attorney  for  Jacob  Steendam 2  in  view  of  the  great  expense  of 
individually  fencing  their  land,  said  expense  being  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  scarcity  of  wood  in  their  neighborhood,  petitioned 
the  director  and  council,  for  leave  to  enclose  their  land  near  Bos- 
wyck, within  a  common  fence,  viz  :  "  from  Xormairs  kil,  to  the  south 
of  the  village,  and  so  extending  to  Mispat  kill;'''  each  person  pay- 
ing in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  his  land,  so  enclosed.  They 
estimated  the  land  at  about  450  morgen,  and  the  expense  of  fenc- 
ing the  same  at  nearly  400  guilders,  whereas  the  cost  of  fencing  it 
privately,  would  be  nearly  4,000  guilders.  They  further  proposed 
to  erect  a  town  gate  in  this  fence,  about  at  Peter  Jan  de  Witt's 
lot.3 

This  was  met,  on  the  7th  of  the  same  month,  by  a  counter 
petition  from  Evert  Hedeman,  Jan  Yselstein,  Jan  Hendricks, 
"Willem  Janevier,  Charles  Fontein,  Hendrick  Barent  Smith, 
Alexander  Conquerare,4  Jan  Cornelissen  and  Joost  Caspersen, 
inhabitants  of  Boswyck,  who,  having  been  informed  that  their 
fellow  citizens  had  solicited  permission. 

':To  place  a  fence  from  Norman's  to  Mispat  kil.  and  to  place  therein,  on 
the  village  road,  a  gate,  which  must  cause  great  injury  to  your  Honor's 
supplicants,  inasmuch  as  three  roads  are  included  within  that  [proposed]  road 
fence,  viz  :  one  to  the  Woodpoint,  the  other  towards  Mispat  kil,  and  another 

1  April  5,  1663.    Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  n.  57,  61,  63. 

%  Jacob  Steendam,  "  the  first  poet  <>i'  New  York  "  lias  had  his  biography  written,  and 
his  poems  felicitously  translated  by  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy,  of  Brooklyn,  in  the 
Anthology  of  the  New  Xetherland,  published  by  the  Bradford  Club,  in  1865. 

3  Ibid.,  65. 

4  Alexander  Cochiveer  became  an  inhabitant  of  Bushwick  in  February,  1663,  Butch 
Manuscripts,  x,  part  n,  26. 


336  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

from  the  west  end  of  the  village  of  Boswyck  towards  Norman's  kil.  While, 
furthermore,  there  yet  remains  a  small  tract  of  the  [West  India]  company's 
land  which  would  be  included  within  that  fence,  to  [the  use  of]  which  we 
are  equally  entitled  with  those  who  proposed  to  erect  the  contemplated  fence. 
Moreover  we  shall  be  compelled,  whenever  we  convey  our  goods  with  our 
oxen  to  the  strand,  to  take  a  servant  with  us,  to  drive  our  oxen  again  from 
the  strand  through  that  gate,  which,  by  going  and  returning,  amounts  to 
nearly  three  miles;  otherwise,  if  we  perform  it  ourselves  [i.  e.,  without  the 
aid  of  a  servant]  we  must  run  the  risk  of  having  our  goods  stolen,  [while 
driving  the  oxen  back  from  the  strand],  inasmuch  as  we  will  not  be  permitted 
to  unyoke  our  oxen  in  the  public  road.  Besides,  our  hogs  are,  [owing  to  this 
fence]  prevented  from  approaching  the  kil,  where  they  obtain  the  greatest 
part  of  their  food.  Your  Honor's  petitioners,  therefore,  desire  to  enjoy  the 
same  privileges  as  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  rob  us  of  them,  for  the  road 
from  the  village  of  Boswyck  to  the  Wood  point  is  partly  laid  on  land  be- 
longing to  the  company,  which  he  [Dirck  Volkertsen  the]  Norman  presented 
to  the  village,  and  the  road  was  partly  on  Norman's  land,  and  was  at  that 
time  woodland,  etc." 

This  petition  is  concluded  with  an  expression  of  their  desire 
to  maintain  "  peace  harmony  and  love  with  all,"  and  a  hint  that 
the  new  comers  "are  aiming"  to  aggrandize  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  others.1 

The  director  general,  having  visited  the  place  in  dispute^  on  the 
19th  of  April,  decreed  that  each  person  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
fence  his  own  land  in  such  manner  as  he  deems  best  and  least 
expensive.  As,  however,  good  roads  are  essential  to  the  public 
welfare,  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  council  that  the  first  petitioners 
should  be  allowed  "to  enclose  their  united  lands  in  one  common 
fence  ;  "  and,  whereas,  the  community  need  a  public  wagon  road 
through  the  said  lands,  to  the  strand,  such  road  should  be  secured 
by  a  fence,  and  constantly  kept  in  good  repair.  But,  if  the 
people  of  Boswick,  or  a  majority  of  them,  declined  to  incur  this 
labor  and  expense,  then  the  first  petitioners  should  be  permitted 
to  fence  in  their  land  with  a  common  fence,  leaving  only  a  lane, 
or  wagon  road  towards  the  strand,  which  road  they  might  secure 
with  a  gate  at  the  end  of  the  village,  "  provided   they  erect,  on 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  n,  65. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  {$7 

the  strand,  an  enclosure,  and  keep  it  in  repair,  in  which   the 

nger  shall  be   obliged  to  secure   his  oxen  or  horses,  -luring 

the  time  that  he  remains  at  the  strand,  in  order  that  the  owners  of 

the  lands  may  receive  no  injury  [from  said  cattle],  in  their  crops."  ' 

On  page  28  of  the  old  Bushwick  record,  is  the  following  mu- 
ter roll  of  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  town  in  1663;  Captain, 
Ryck  Ly decker  (Schout) ;  Ensign,  Jan  Tilje  Casperse  ;  Secretary, 
Boudwyn  Manout ;  Sergeant,  Evert  Hedeman ;  Corporals,  Pieter 
Jans  Wit,  Jan  Hendricks,  Alexander  Conquerare ;  Privates, 
Gysbert  Tunissen  (Schepen),  Barent  Joost  (Schepen),  David 
Jochemsen,  Hendrick  Grever,  Jan  Mailjaert,  Andries  Barentse, 
Jan  Parys,  Evert  Mauritz,  Charles  Fontain,  Jan  Cornel  Zeieuw, 
Corn3.  Janse  Zeieuw,  Joost  Caspersen,  Johannes  Caspersen,  Melie 
Caspersen,  Francois  de  Puj,  Jan  Williams  Essellstein,  William 
Traphagen,  Barent  Gerretse;  (Drummer),  Dirck  Yolkertse,  Vol- 
kert  Dirckse,  Jan  Botzer,  Wessel  Gerrits,  Nicolaes  Jones,  Tunis 
Martin,  Carel  Carelsen,  Claes  Wolf,  Wouter  Gysbertsen,  Jacob 
Gysbertsen,  Caesar  Barentse,  Carel  Reyckwyl,  Francois  d'Meyer, 
Antoin  d'Meyer. 

Thus  quietly  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  the  little  com- 
munity of  Boswyck  maintained  the  even  tenor  of  its  way,  until 
disturbed,  in  1663  and  1664,  by  the  political  excitements  which 
preceded  the  conquest  of  New  Netherland,  by  the  English.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  repeat,  in  this  place,  the  detailed  account  of  public 
events,  which  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter,2  suffice  it  to 
say,  that  throughout  those  times,  Boswyck  remained  loyal  to  the 
states-general. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1663,  the  inhabitants  of  Boswyck  complained 
of  having  money  extorted  by  the  company,  for  the  rights  of 
citizenship. 

At  a  meeting:  of  the  magistrates  of  most  of  the  Dutch  towns  in 
the  province,  convened  on  the  1st  of  Xovember,  1663,  to  discuss 
the  condition  and  affairs  of  the  country,  Boswyck  was  represented 
by  Ryck  Lydecker,  and  Gysbert  Teanisscn,  to  whom  was  granted 
the  following  power  of  attorney  : 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts.     2  Chap.  in.  vol.  i. 
43 


338  HISTORY  OF  BBOOKLYN. 

"Whereas  a  letter  has  been  sent  by  the  lords  general  and  supreme  council- 
lors of  New  Netherland  to  the  magistrates  of  Boswyck,  whereby  they  are  en- 
joined to  send  two  delegates  from  their  town  to  the  Manhatts  furnished  and 
provided  with  the  proper  authority ;  Therefore,  the  aforesaid  magistrates 
have  chosen  and  named  two  persons  from  the  same,  with  the  knowledge  and 
consent  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  viz  :  Ryckus  Leydecker  and  Gys- 
bert  Teunissen,  to  whom  they  give  full  power,  authority  and  special  command 
to  protect,  defend,  uphold  and  vindicate  and  determine  in  their  name  and  on 
behalf  of  their  constituents,  the  matters  affecting  the  aforesaid  town  of  Bos- 
wyck which  shall  be  laid  before  them,  as  needs  may  require,  and  to  do  in 
every  respect  therein  as  their  constituents  might  and  could  do,  if  they  were 
all  there  before  their  eyes,  holding  the  same  to  be  affirmed,  good,  fast  and 
true,  the  aforesaid  constituency  promising  the  deputed  to  aid,  uphold,  and 
bear  all  costs,  losses,  charges,  etc.,  herein,  they  the  constituents  hereunto 
pledging  their  persons  and  goods,  and  submitting  the  same  to  the  constraint 
of  all  courts  and  judges.  In  witness  whereof  this  is  subscribed  this  last  of 
October,  1663,  in  presence  of  me  B.  Manout,  secretary."  1 

January  1664.  The  council  received  a  petition  from  Abraham 
Jansen,  carpenter,  requesting  permission  to  erect  a  mill  near  the 
village  of  Boswyck.  He  was  required  to  appear,  together  with 
the  magistrates  of  that  village,  before  the  council,  and  explain  as 
to  the  proposed  location.  They  did  so,  on  1st  of  February,  and 
the  magistrates  of  the  town,  on  being  interrogated,  expressed  a 
cordial  wish  to  have  the  water  mill  erected  on  Mispatt  kils,  which 
was  accordingly  granted.2 

In  February,  1664,  William  Traphagen,  for  insulting  one  of 
the  magistrates  of  Bushwyck  by  calling  him  a  false  judge,  was 
sentenced  by  the  governor  and  council,  to  appear  with  uncovered 
head  before  the  court  of  Bushwick,  and,  in  the  presence  of  the 
fiscal,  to  beg  pardon  of  God,  justice  and  the  insulted  magistrate  ; 
and  to  pay,  in  addition,*  thirteen  guilders  to  the  overseers  of  the 
poor  of  the  town,  with  costs.3 

In  May,  of  the  same  year,  Jan  Willemsen  Van  Iselsteyn,  com- 
monly called  Jan  of  Leyden,  for  using  abusive  language  and 

1  Bush.  Records,  30. 

2  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  in,  27,  41,  42,  date  January  28,  and  February  1,  7. 

3  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  in,  16  and  80. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN 

writing  an  insolent  letter  to  the  magistrates  of  Bnshwick,  was 
sentenced  to  be  fastened  to  a  stake  al  the  place  of  public  execution, 

with  a  bridle  in  bis  month,  a  bundle  of  rods  under  bis  arm,  and  a 
paper  on  his  breast  bearing  the  inscription:  ''Lampoon  writer, 
false  accuser  and  defamer  of  its  magistrates."  After  tins  ignominy 
he  was  to  be  banished,  with  costs.1 

On  the  same  day,  William  Jansen  Traphagen,  of  Lemgo,  for 
being  the  bearer  of  the  above  insolent  letter  to  the  magistral' 
Bushwick,  as  well  as  for  using  very  indecent  language  towards 
them,  was  also  sentenced  to  be  tied  to  the  stake,  in  the  place  of 
public  execution,  with  a  paper  on  his  breast,  inscribed  "  Lampoon 
carrier."  His  punishment,  also,  was  completed  with  banishment 
and  costs. 

In  the  general  assembly  which  convened  in  April,  1664,  to  con- 
sider the  state  of  the  country,  the  town  was  represented  by  Messrs. 
Jan  Van  Cleef  and  Gysbert  Teunissen.  And  although  in  common 
with  the  neighboring  towns  on  Long  Island,  the  citizens  of  Boswyck 
yielded  a  docile  submission  to  English  authority,  it  is  probable 
that  their  supineness  was  due  to  the  natural  apathy  of  their  race, 
rather  than  to  any  particular  satisfaction  with  their  new  masters. 
If,  indeed,  they  had  imagined  that  any  benefit  was  to  accrue  to 
them  from  the  change,  they  were  soon  undeceived,  for  they  found 
that  the  rule  of  British  governors  was,  to  that  of  their  petulant  and 
arbitary  director,  Stuyvesant,  as  the  little  finger  of  Rehoboam  was 
to  the  loins  of  his  father;  and  that  they  had  gained  but  little, 
either  in  regard  to  civil  or  religious  matters.  The  records  of 
Boswyck,  from  this  time  forward,  present  little  of  interest  to  the 
general  reader,  being  mostly  occupied  with  council  orders,  etc., 
whose  chief  value  is  to  show  the  more  than  paternal  care  with  which 
the  English  colonial  authorities  regulated  the  affairs  of  their  pro- 
vincial subjects. 

Li  the  Hempstead  convention  which  framed  the  Duke's  laws,  this 
town  was  represented  by  Messrs.  Jan  Stryker  and  Gysbert  Tunissen. 

By  these  presents,  beloved  friends,  you  are  authorized  and  required,  by 
plurality  of  votes,  to  cause  to  be  chosen  by  the  freeholders  of  your  town, 

1  Dutch  Manuscripts,  x,  part  n,  215. 


Magistrates. 


340  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

eight  men  of  good  name  and  fame,  for  the  purpose  of  administering  justice 
for  the  ensuing  year,  for  which  they  will  be  held  answerable  in  their  indi- 
vidual capacities,  together  with  the  constable  which  is  elected,  until  the  first 
day  of  April  next  (0.  S.).  You  will  forward  the  names  of  the  persons 
chosen,  as  is  usual,  to  his  Excellency  Governor  Nicolls,  who  sends  these 
presents  greeting,  in  the  name  of  God. 

Dated  in  Fort  James,  March  23,  1665,  0.  S. 

By  order  of  the  Governor 

C.  V.    RUYVEN. 

It  is  ordered  by  the  constable  and  magistrate  that  the  old  fences  be  re- 
placed with  new  material,  and  we  appoint  Gysbert  Tunissen  and  Dirck 
Volckertsen,  fence  viewers  :  Given  under  our  hands,  at  Boswyck,  May  4, 
1665.  Everhardt  Hedeman,  Constable. 

Barent  Garretse  Letelier,  " 
Pieter  Jansen  Witt, 
Ryck  Lydecker, 
Jan  Cornelisse  Zeeuw. 
Very  good  friends, 

This  will  serve  to  make  known  to  you,  that  I  have  translated  the  enclosed 
precept  (in  the  Dutch  language),  that  you  may  know,  that  on  the  next 
Tuesday,  the  constable  will  summon  the  officers  and  all  the  citizens  of  your 
town,  who  understand  the  English  language,  to  attend  the  court  at  Graves- 
end,  on  the  20th  of  July,  next. 

Your  friend, 

Cornelis  Tan  Rtjyven. 

Sworn  Translator. 
New  York,  17th  of  June,  1665,  0.  S. 

Precept. 
To  the  constable  of  the  town  of  Boswyck : 

You  are  hereby  required,  personally,  to  appear  before  His  Majesty's 
Court,  at  Gravesend,  on  the  20th  of  July  next,  and  you  are  required,  also, 
to  summon  the  officers  of  your  town,  to  appear  at  said  Court  of  Sessions, 
and  not  to  leave  the  same  during  the  term.  And  you  are  also  required  to 
summon  as  many  of  your  inhabitants  as  understand  the  English  language  to 
attend  the  aforesaid  Court,  and  not  to  leave  the  same  during  the  term,  on 
pain  of  fine. 

Dated  the  16th  of  June,  1665,  in  the  18th  year  of  His  Majesty's  reign. 

Jo :  Rieder, 

York  Hill,  on  Long  IsUnd.  Clerk  of  Sessions. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  341 

A  few  days  later,  Secretary  Van  Ruyven  informs  the  citizens 
of  Boswyck,  of  his  appointment  as  clerk  of  records,  etc.  His 
letter,  and  the  formal  notification  accompanying  it,  are  as  follows  : 

Honored  and  very  good  friends, 

It  lias  pleased  the  Honorable  Governor  Richard  Nicolls,  to  order,  that  all 

transports,  or  conveyances,  or  obligations  for  real  estate,  shall  be  written  and 

sealed  by  me,  upon  pain  of  beiog  held  null  and  void.     Therefore,  you  are 

requested  to  publish  this  notice  to  the  inhabitants  of  your  town,  to  the  end 

that  they  may  sustain  no  damage  in  relation  to  the  subject. 

Your  friend, 

Cornelis  Van  Ruyven. 
New  York,  June  19,  1665. 

Notification. 

To  forestall,  and  prevent  all  misunderstanding,  and  to  have  our  records 
kept  in  a  proper  manner,  all  our  inhabitants  of  the  Dutch  towns  of  Long 
Island,  are  notified  and  informed,  that  no  transport,  deed,  or  hypothecation 
of  lands,  houses  or  lot,  will  be  held  valid,  unless  they  are  passed,  registered, 
signed  and  sealed  by  Mr.  Cornelis  Yan  Ruyven. 

Done  at  Fort  James,  in  New  York,  June  16,  1665. 

This  order  was  followed  by  another,  viz : 

To  the  constable  of  the  town  of  Bushwick  : 

By  these  presents  you  are,  in  his  Majesty's  name,  commanded  and  ordered, 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  officers  of  your  town,  who  shall  within  four  months 
after  the  first  day  of  June,  make  out  a  correct  list  of  all  male  persons,  of  the 
age  of  16  years  and  upwards;  and  also,  a  correct  list  or  estimation  of  the 
estate  of  every  inhabitant  of  the  town,  that  he  holds  in  his  own  right,  or  for 
others,  according  to  its  true  value,  designating  the  same  particularly,  and  to 
whom  it  belongs  in  the  town,  or  elsewhere,  as  the  same  can  be  discovered, 
and  the  tenure  under  which  the  property  is  held.  And  also,  an  account,  or 
list,  of  every  acre  of  land  in  the  town,  and  the  true  value  of  the  same,  and  by 
whom  owned,  and  further  the  tax  each  person  has  to  pay,  from  a  pound  to 
a  penny,  for  his  land  and  personal  property,  and  also,  a  report  of  the  situa- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town ;  neatly  written  in  the  English  language. 

Hereof  fail  not,  as  you  will  answer  for  the  same, 

By  me, 

Wilhelm  Welsh, 

June  20,  1665.  Chief  Clerk. 


342  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Having  assumed  the  complete  control  of  civil  affairs,  the  go- 
vernor next  proceeded  to  interfere  with  the  ecclesiastical  concerns 
of  the  village,  and  promulgated  the  following  order  : 

Beloved  friends  : 

As  you  have  no  minister  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  congregation  of 
your  town,  nor  are  you  able  wholly  to  maintain  a  minister,  therefore,  it 
seems  proper  to  us,  that  the  neighboring  towns,  which  have  no  settled 
minister,  should  combine  with  you  to  maintain  the  gospel  ministry,  and  that 
you  should  jointly  contribute  for  that  purpose;  therefore,  we  deem  it  pro- 
per to  order,  and  firmly  and  orderly  to  establish,  according  to  the  desire  of 
many  of  your  people,  who  have  conferred  with  me,  therefore,  we  have  ordered 
that  three  or  four  persons,  duly  authorized,  appear,  on  Thursday  or  Friday 
next,  further  to  confer  on  that  matter,  for  themselves  and  the  timid,  and 
the  other  inhabitants. 

Whereupon,  we  greet  you  cordially,  as  honored  and  respected  friends, 

and  as  your  friend, 

Richard  Nicoll. 
Fort  James,  Oct.,  17th,  1665. 

This  specious  and  courteously  worded  letter  was  based  upon  the 
gratuitous  assumption  that  Boswyck  enjoyed  no  religious  advan- 
tages whatever,  an  assumption  which  was  as  unfounded  in  fact, 
as  it  was  unjust  to  the  character  of  the  settlers  themselves.  For 
Governor  Nicolls  well  knew  that  the  people  of  Boswyck  then  were 
and  had  been  since  the  first  establishment  of  the  town,  in  1660, 
in  connection  with  the  church  at  Breuckelen,  and  participants  in 
all  its  privileges.  Under  the  circumstances,  we  can  only  believe 
that  the  extreme  interest  manifested  by  the  governor  in  the 
religious  welfare  of  Boswyck,  was  prompted  mainly  by  his  desire  to 
benefit  himself,  or  some  favored  clergyman  of  his  acquaintance. 

Two  months  later,  the  community  of  Boswyck  received  another 
letter  from  his  Excellency,  on  this  subject: 

"  Beloved  and  Honorable  Grood  Friends  : 

Before  this  time  our  order  has  been  made  known  to  you,  that  the  honora- 
ble ministers  of  this  place,  in  turn,  will  preach  to  your  people  until  you  are 
able  to  maintain  a  minister  yourselves.  By  our  order  presented  to  you,  you 
were  required  to  raise  the  sum  of  175  guilders,  as  your  proportion  of  the 
salary;  but,  in  consideration  of  the  trouble,  in  your  town,  we  have  deemed 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN 

it  proper,  under  present  circumstance?,  to  reduce  the  sum  of  175  guilders  to 
the  s  .in  of  100  guilders,  which  we  deem  reasonable,  and  against  which  no 
reasonable  complaint  can  exist,  and  ought  to  be  satisfactory;  which  last  Bum 
we  demand  for  the  minister's  salary  ;  therefore,  we  expect  that  measures  will 
be  adopted,  to  collect  the  same  promptly,  pursuant  to  this  order;  and  to  en- 
sure the  same,  we  have  deemed  it  proper  to  appoint  Evert  Hedeman  and  Peter 
Jauseu  Pewit,  giving  them  power  and  authority  to  assess  and  collect  that 
sum,  having  regard  to  the  condition  and  circumstances  of  the  people,  and 
to  decide  what  each  of  them  shall  pay,  which  the  said  persons  shall  collect, 
or  cause  to  be  collected,  that  is  one  hundred  guilders  in  three  installments, 
and  pay  the  same  over  to  us;  the  first,  on  the  last  day  of  December  next; 
the  second,  on  the  last  day  of  April  next,  and  the  third,  on  the  last  day  of 
August  next  ensuing. 

Whereupon,  we  remain  your  friend   greeting, 

Richard  Xicoll. 

This  will  be  delivered  to  Evert  Hedeman  and  Peter  Jansen  Dewit,  and 
read  to  the  congregation  : 

Fort  James.  December  26, 1665  : 

R.  N.M 

"Anno  1665,  the  27th  of  December,  the  minister,  who  was 
sent  to  preach  by  the  Hon.  Gov.  Richard  Nicolls,  preached  his 
first  sermon  at  the  house  of  Gysbert  Tonissen." 

The  name  of  the  minister  who  preached  the  above  mentioned 
"  first  sermon  "  is  not  given  in  the  record ;  neither  does  it  any- 
where appear,  who  his  successors  were,  or  whether  they  were 
Dutch,  English  or  French.  It  probably  is  sirfficient  for  us  now, 
as  it  was  for  the  good  people  of  Boswyck  in  their  day,  to  know 
that  they  were  the  governor's  favored  gentry,  and  probably  in  his 
interest. 

The  records  continue : 

11  To  the  inhabitants  of  Boswyck  : 

Beloved  Friends  —  I  am  authorized  by  the  governor,  to  receive  the  salary 

of  the  ministers,  being  one  hundred  guilders,  which  is  due  and  now  collecting 

in  your  town,  pursuant  to  order,  which  I   am  to  pay  (over  to   the  requiring 

ministers). 

Your  friend,  greeting, 

Cornelius  V.  Ruyven. 


344  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

New  York,  January  5, 1666  : 

Anno  1666,  January  13.  The  persons  named  below  have  been  obliged 
to  pay  to  Evert  Hedeman  and  Peter  Jansen  Dewit  (compelled  collectors), 
for  the  ministers  salary,  the  sums  set  opposite  to  their  respective  names,  which 
was  assessed  upon  their  sowed  lands." 

Here  follow  the  names  of  twenty-six  persons,  who  paid  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  guilders  for  the  minister's  salary.  This  odious 
tax,  for  such  it  would  seem  from  the  wording  of  the  above  record, 
continued  to  be  levied  and  collected  until  the  colony  was  retaken 
by  the  Dutch,  in  1673.  And  all  this,  be  it  remembered,  was  in 
flagrant  violation  of  the  8th  article  of  the  Capitulation  of  1664, 
which  provided  that  "  the  Dutch  here  shall  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
their  consciences,  in  divine  worship  and  church  discipline."  In 
short,  after  the  British  conquest  of  1664,  the  Dutch  were  most 
rigorously  treated  by  the  English.  The  teachers  in  those  days 
were  the  clerks,  sextons  and  choristers  of  the  towns,  and  were 
obliged  to  instruct  the  children,  in  the  catechism  of  the  Eeformed 
church,  and  in  the  scriptures,  and  also  to  open  the  schools  with 
prayer.  But  after  the  colony  came  under  English  rule,  the 
teachers  received  no  salary  from  government,  no  English  schools 
were  established,  and  there  was  no  encouragement  given  to  edu- 
cation. All  law  proceedings  were  ordered  to  be  conducted 
entirely  in  the  English  language,1  and  strong  and  arbitrary 
measures  were  taken,  as  we  have  seen,  to  establish  an  Episcopal 
church  in  Bushwick,  for  the  support  of  which  the  people  were 
grievously  taxed.  But,  though  obliged  to  pay  the  taxes,  they  would 
not  attend  the  preaching  of  the  parson  so  officiously  thrust  upon 
them,  and  finally  he  and  his  "  Beloved  Eoger  "  were  withdrawn. 
This  attempt  to  force  an  established  church  upon  the  town  of 
Bushwick,  was  felt  to  be  a  galling  injustice,  and  finally,  with 
other  infractions,  led  to  a  public  meeting  of  the  people  of  the 
county,  held  at  Flatbush,  in  1684,  whereat  were  passed  several 

1  Court  of  Sessions,  June  18,  1679,  at  Gravesend,  in  a  question  about  a  highway  in 
Bushwick,  Hendrick  Barent  Smith,  "  brought  several  papers  in  Dutch,  into  the  court, 
which  not  being  translated  into  English,  wrere  rejected." — Furmaris  Manuscripts, 
vni,  416. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  345 

strongly  worded  resolutions,  condemnatory  of  the  English,  for 
their  faithlessness  in  violating  the  conditions  of  the  treaty,  and 
in  compelling  them  to  litigate  in  a  language  which  they  did  not 
understand.  A  significant  expression  of  the  feeling  of  the  people 
on  this  point,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  two  cases  then  pending 
before  the  court  of  sessions,  were  withdrawn,  and  referred  to 
arbitrators  appointed  by  the  meeting,  the  parties  alleging  that 
they  were  Dutchmen,  "  and  did  not  wish  to  have  their  rights 
adjudicated  by  an  English  court."  It  was,  also,  agreed  by  the 
meeting,  that  they  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  courts,  and 
that  they  would  settle  all  their  differences  in  future  by  arbitration. 
The  inhabitants  thereafter  adhered  so  strictly  to  these  resolutions, 
that  the  courts  were  seldom  occupied  by  civil  causes,  and  usually 
adjourned  on  the  first  day.  No  lawyer  resided  in  the  county  before 
1783  ;  and  the  Episcopal  church  was  not  established  here  until 
1776,  during  the  occupation  of  the  town  by  the  British,  during 
the  Revolutionary  war.  The  Dutch  churches  supported  all  the 
poor  of  the  county,  all  who  could  labor  being  employed,  and  no 
poor  tax  was  raised  in  the  county  until  the  year  1785. 

1687.    Patent  of  the  Town  of  Bosivick. 

Recorded  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boswick. —  Lib.  Pat.,  No.  6, 
page  142. 

Thomas  Dongan,  Capt.  Generall,  Governour  in  Chiefe  &  Vice  Admiral 
in  and  over  the  province  of  New  York  and  Terrytoryes  depending  thereon, 
in  America,  under  his  Matic  James  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of 
England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Sec. 
To  all  whome  these  presents  shall  come,  Sendeth  greeting  :  Whereas,  Richard 
Nicolls,  Esq.,  Governeur  Gen11  under  his  Royal  High88  James,  Duke  of 
Yorke  and  Albany,  now  his  present  Majesty  of  all  his  Territoryes  in  America, 
hath,  by  patent  under  his  hand  and  seale,  bearing  date  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  October,  1667,  Given,  Granted,  Ratified  and  confirmed  unto  Peter  Johnson, 
Dirck  Norman,  Paulus  Richards,  David  Jochem  and  Long  Guisbert,  as 
Patentees  for  and  on  behalf  of  themselves,  and  their  associates,  the  ffree- 
holders  and  inhabitants  of  a  certain  town,  scituate,  lyeing,  and  being  in  the 
West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  now  King's  County,  upon  Long  island,  commonly 
called  and  knowne  by  the  name  of  Boswick,  which  said  Towne  was,  and  now  is, 
in  the  Tenure  and  occupaceon  of  several  freeholders  and  Inhabitants,  who 

44 


346  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

were  seated  by  authority,  and  have  been  att  considerable  charge  in  manureing 
and  planting  a  considerable  part  of  the  Lands  belonging  thereunto,  and 
settled  a  competent  number  of  Familyes  thereupon,  which  said  Towne 
contains  that  Tract,  together  with  the  several  parcels  of  Land,  which  already 
have,  or  hereafter  shall  bee  Purchased  or  procured  for,  and  on  the  behalf  of 
the  said  Towne,  whether  from  the  native  Indian  Proprietors,  or  others,  within 
the  limitts  &  bounds  hereafter  set  forth  and  exprest,  viz,  that  is  to  say, 
the  said  Towne  is  bounded  with  the  mouth  of  certain  Creek  or  Kill,  commonly 
called  Maspeth  Kills,  right  over  against  the  Dominie's  Hook,  so  y  Bounds 
go  to  David  Jochem's  Hook,  then  Stretching  upon  a  South-East  line  alongst 
the  said  Kill  they  come  to  Smith's  Island,  including  the  same,  together  with 
all  the  Meadow  Ground  or  Valley  thereunto  belonging,  and  continuing  the 
same  course,  they  Pass  along  by  the  fence  at  the  Wood  side,  so  to  Thomas 
Wondall's  meadows,  from  whence,  stretching  upon  a  South  East  and  by  South 
line  alongst  the  wood  and  to  the  Kill,  takeinginthe  Meadow  or  Valley  lyeing 
there,  they  pass  unto  the  land  heretofore  belonging  to  Ryck  Loedecker,  De- 
ceased, &  soe  stretche  againe  neare  upon  a  South  East  and  by  South  line,  Six 
hundred  Rodd  into  the  woods,  then  running  behind  the  Lotts  as  the  Woodland 
lies,  South  West  and  by  South,  and  out  of  the  said  Woods ;  they  goe  again 
North  West  to  a  certain  small  swamp,  from  thence  they  run  behind  the  new 
Lotts  to  Jan  the  Swede's  meadow,  so  along  by  a  small  kil  or  creek  to  a  corner 
or  hook  of  Jan  Cornelissen's  meadow,1  then  over  the  Norman's  Kill  to  the 
west  end  of  his  old  house,  from  whence  they  go  alongst  the  river  till  you 
come  to  the  mouth  of  Maspeth  Kills,  and  David  Jochem's  Hook  afore  men- 
cioned,  where  they  first  begun.2     All  which  said  Tract  and  Parcels  of  Land 

1  This  sentence  omitted  by  Thompson.  Cornelissen's  meadow  is  identical  with  the 
meadow  late  one  of  Francis  Titus's  near  the  northerly  termination  of  the  present 
Fifth  street  of  Williamsburgh,  and  at  the  junction  of  the  branch  of  Bush  wick  creek, 
which  now  rises  near  Ninth  street  and  Grand,  and  was  the  former  north-easterly 
boundary  of  the  old  village  of  Williamsburgh. 

2  The  boundary,  by  this  patent  described,  between  Bush  wick  and  Brooklyn  was 
about  150  feet  east  of  the  present  Division  avenue.  In  1703  this  line  was  corrected, 
and  the  commissioners  released  private  title  of  150  feet  to  the  former  owners,  and 
gave  it  to  Brooklyn.  See  deed  of  John  V.  Duryea  to  Austin  D.  Moore,  to  Lefferts, 
Meserole,  Bobins,  etc.,  (Liber  Conveyances,  vi ;  letter  T  or  grantors,  M). 

The  Sweetie's  Fly  Boad  is  still  known,  and  the  lands  between  Seventh  and  Tenth 
streets,  and  South  Third  street  and  a  line  about  equidistant  between  South  Fifth 
and  South  Sixth  streets,  were  devised  in  1779,  by  David  Miller  to  his  son  Peter,  as 
the  land  he  bought  of  Jacob  Roosevelt,  at  the  Sweede's  Fly.  Hence,  we  locate  the 
meadow  of  John  the  Sweede  in  the  neighborhood  of  Grand,  Ninth  and  North  Second 
streets ;  and  the  westerly  line  of  Bushwick  in  this  patent  ran  nearly  in  the  same 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  347 

Meadow  Ground  and  premisses,  within  the  bounds  and  limitts  before  men- 
ceoned,  Described,  and  all  or  any  plantaceon  or  plantaceous  thereupon,  from 
henceforth  to  be,  appurtaine  and  belong  to  the  said  Towne  of  Boswick,  to- 
gether with  all  Havens,  Harbors,  Creeks,  Quarries,  Woodland,  Meadow*  I  round. 
Reed  land  or  valley,  of  all  sorts,  Pastures,  Marshes,  Waters,  Rivers,  Lakes,  fill- 
ing, hawking,  hunting  and  fowling,  and  all  other  Proffitts,  Cominodityes, 
Emoluments  &  hereditam,s  to  the  said  Lands  and  premissess,  within  the 
bounds  and  Limitts  set  forth,  belonging,  or  in  any  way  appurtaineinir  A: 
also  freedom  Comonage  for  range  and  feed  of  cattle  and  Horses  into  the 
Woods,  as  well  without  as  within  their  bounds  and  Limitts,  with  the  rest  of 
their  neighbours,  to  have  and  to  hold  all  and  singular  the  said  Tract,  Parcells 
of  land,  Comonage,  Hereditaments  and  premises,  with  their,  and  every  of  their 
appurtenances,  &  of  every  parte  and  Parcell  thereof,  to  the  said  Patentees 
and  their  Associates,  their  Heires,  Successors  and  Assigns  forever.  And,  more- 
over, the  said  Richard  Nicolls,  Governor  Generall,  as  aforesaid,  did  further 
give,  Grant,  ratine  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Patentees  and  their  associates, 
their  heires,  Successors  and  Assigns,  all  the  Rights  and  Priviledges  belonging 
to  a  Towne  within  this  Governm1,  &  that  the  place  of  their  present  Habita- 
ceon  shall  continue  &  retaine  the  name  of  Boswick,  by  which  name  or  title 
it  shall  be  distinguished  and  knowne  in  all  bargaines  &  sailes,  Deeds, 
Writeings  and  Records,  they,  the  said  Patentees  &  Associates,  their  heires, 
successors  and  Assigns,  Rendring  &  paying  such  duties  and  acknowledging 
as  now  are  or  hereafter  shall  bee  constituted  &  established  by  the  Laws  of 

general  direction  from  the  small  swamp  mentioned  over  against  the  present  East 
New  York,  west  of  and  parallel  to  the  present  Division  avenue,  to  the  junction  of 
the  two  creeks  as  mentioned,  and  left  out  the  entire  old  village  of  Williamsburgh, 
from  the  limits  and  bounds  of  Bushwick. 

The  line  mentioned  as  parallel  with  the  present  Division  avenue,  until  run  out 
and  settled  by  the  commissioners,  in  1703,  was  within  the  present  limits  of  Brooklyn, 
from  "  the  small  swamp  "  mentioned,  to  the  present  north-westerly  boundary  of  lands 
bought  by  Austin  D.  Moore,  Esq.,  of  the  estate  of  John  V.  D.  Duryea ;  the  westerly 
boundary  of  this  land  of  Mr.  Moore's  being,  as  is  supposed,  identical  with  tin-  town 
line  as  located  under  this  first  patent.  The  trustees  of  Brooklyn  released  to  those 
who  had  in  possession  the  strip  of  land  cut  off  by  the  new  location  of  the  town  line  ; 
and,  among  others,  Joost  Duryea  (ancestor  of  J.  V.  D.  Duryea)  was  made  a  grantee 
by  the  commissioners  (Lib.  iv,  Convey.,  p.  90,  Kings  Co.  clerk's  office). 

The  above  notes  afford  an  interesting  topic  for  consideration.  The  purposes  of  the 
early  charters  respected  the  municipal  necessities  and  protection  of  the  people,  rather 
than  to  become  the  basis  of  any  legal  estate  in  lands.  Indeed,  the  lands  were  nearly 
all  vested  by  private  charters  granted  to  individuals.  And  that  portion  of  Bushicick, 
bo  counted  unworthy  ofnoticein  the  original  charter  of  the  town,  subsequently  became 
the  centre  of  a  flourishing  city. 


348  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

this  Governm1  under  the  obedience  of  his  Roy11  Highss,  now  his  present 
Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  as  doth  more  particularly  appeare  by  said 
Pattent,  Recorded  in  the  Secretaryes  Office,  Relacon  being  thereunto  had. 
And  whereas,  upon  a  difference  ariseing  between  the  Inhabitants  of  Newtowne 
&  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswick  aforesaid,  concerning  the 
Liraitts  &  Bounds  of  their  respective  Townes,  upon  applycacon  made  to 
Francis  Lovelace,  late  Governour  of  this  Province,  under  his  Roy11  Highss, 
now  his  present  Majesty.  Did  order,  appoint  and  Commissionate  Thomas 
Delavall,  Matthias  Nichols,  James  Hubbard,  Jacques  Cortelyou,  Elbert 
Elbertsen,  Elias  Doughty,  to  view  &  inspect  the  Limitts  of  their  Respective 
Townes,  and  to  endeavor  a  composure,  and  put  a  period  to  their  controversy, 
which  said  Commissioners  haveing  been  upon  the  place  &  heard  &  examined 
the  matter  on  each  side,  did  further  request  and  desire  &  consent  of  persons 
deputed  by  the  Inhabitants  of  each  Towne,  did,  upon  due  consideration  of 
the  premissess,  &  to  the  end  no  further  dispute  or  difference  may  be  between 
the  two  townes,  and  for  the  future  that  they  may  live  in  neighborly  friend- 
ship, did  conclude  and  determine  that  there  should  be  a  final  end  of  said 
difference,  and  adjudge  that  all  the  Valley  or  meadow  ground  on  the  West- 
ernmost side  of  the  Creek  of  Maspeth  Kills,  shall  be  and  belong  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Boswyck,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  mouth  of  the  said  Creek,  to 
run  through  and  parte  the  Meadow  ground  or  valley  about  the  middle,  so  to 
go  in  the  Western  branch  of  the  said  Creek,  to  a  certaine  Pond  into  which 
the  Creek  runs,  called  Scudder's  Pond,  neare  whereunto  the  fence  of  Hen- 
drick  Barent  Smith  now  stands,  and  that  Smith's  Island,  comonly  so  called, 
and  all  the  valley  or  Meadow  ground  on  the  East  side  of  the  Creek  adjoining, 
or  contiguous  to  the  said  Island,  shall  be  and  remain  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
Mespath  Kills,  or  New  Towne.  Although  expressly  menconed  in  the 
Pattent  of  Boswick,  for  that  it  seems  more  properly  to  be  writtin  the  Limitts 
of  New  Towne,  in  considercon  whereof,  and  in  Liew  of  Six  hundred  Rodd 
menconed  in  their  Pattent,  to  run  into  the  woods  upon  a  South  East  and  by 
South  line,  as  also  for  an  enlargement  of  their  Bounds ;  as  to  the  upland  of 
which  they  have  occasion ;  the  Inhabitants  of  Boswick  shall  have  and  enjoye 
all  the  land,  whether  upland  or  other,  beginning  from  the  ffence  afore- 
menconed  neare  Scudder's  Pond,  to  run  upon  a  South  South  East  line  till  it 
comes  to  the  Kills,  that  is  to  say,  all  the  Land  in  the  Westerne  side  thereof, 
including  the  Plantaceons,  both  upland  and  meadow  Ground,  belonging  to  the 
said  Hendrick  Barent  Smith,  within  the  Limitts  of  their  said  Towne,  or  soe 
much  thereof  as  shall  be  within  the  line  aforesd  j  and  that  the  said  Hendrick 
be  a  member  of  said  Towne  as  by  return  of  said  Commissioners,  under  their 
hands,  bearing  date  the  twenty-eight  day  of  June,  1672,  &  the  confirmacon 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  349 

of  the  same  under  the  hand  of  the  then  Governor,  Francis  Lovelace,  Recorded 
in  the  Secretaryes  Office,  relaceon  being  thereto  had,  may  more  fully  and  at 
large  appear.  And  whereas,  att  a  councill  held  att  New  Yorke  before  me, 
upon  the  twenty-eight  Aprill,  1684,  severalls  Deputed  from  the  Townes  of 
Boswick  &  New  Towne,  Produced  their  Pattents  and  papers  relating  to  what 
was  done  by  Governour  Lovelace  &  Governour  Nicolls,  and  likewise  the 
arbitracon  made  by  the  Commissioners  aforesaid,  which,  with  the  advice  of 
my  Councill,  I  thought  fitt  to  approve  as  by  order  of  Councill.  Recorded  in 
the  Secretaryes  Office,  Relacon  thereunto  being  had  may  more  fully  and  at 
large  appear;  the  whole  as  now  possessed,  beginning  from  Scudder's  Pond, 
next  to  the  fence  of  Heudrick  Barent  Smith,  and  stretching  with  a  South 
South  East  line  to  the  mountaine  or  hills,  and  so  along  the  said  Hills  about 
three  hundred  Rodd  abouttingto  the  Limitts  of  Brookland,  beginning  againe 
from  the  Hills  with  a  North  West  Line  to  a  Nutt  Tree  Markt,  and  standing 
in  the  small  bushes,  and  from  said  tree  with  a  right  line  between  Teunis 
Guisberts  [Bogaert]  &  Jacob  Kipp,  to  the  East  River,  and  along  the  said 
river  to  the  Norman's  Creek,  and  further  the  Norman's  Corner  and  David 
Jochem's  Corner,  stretching  by  the  East  river,  along  to  the  corner  of  Mars- 
peth  Kills,  and  so  along  to  the  depth  of  s(1  Kill  at  Humphrey  Clay's ;  and 
from  thence  to  the  depth  of  said  Kill  to  Scudder's  Pond,  over  the  Creek  to 
Hendrick  Barent  Smith  aforesaid.  And  whereas  Peter  Janselert,  Charles 
Fountaine.  Volkert  Dircksen,  Peter  Praa,  Jacob  Dircksen,  Joost  Cockuyt, 
Jacob  Jansen,  John  Meserole,  John  Meserole,  Junior,  Jacob  Kipp,  Seuior, 
Veuter  Verscurson,  John  Luquir,  Cornelis  Johnson,  Peter  Johnson,  Loy 
Charles  Deniso  Claes,  Cornelis  Catts,  Jurian  Nagel,  Albert  Hendricks, 
Michael  Parmenter,  Joost  David,  Lawrence  Cooke,  Henry  Barent  Smith, 
Humphrey  Clay,  Peter  Scamp,  Simon  Hakes,  Adrian  Layforce,  Alex  Cock- 
ever,  Jan  Conselyea,  Volkert  De  "Witt,  the  present  freeholders  and 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswyck,  hath  made  application  to  me  for 
a  confirmacon  of  the  Premissess  by  Pattent,  under  the  Seale  of  the  Province. 
Now,  Know  Y"ee,  that  for  divers  good  consideracons  me  thereunto  moving,  and 
more  especially  for  the  Greater  Improvem1  the  said  respective  Inhabitants 
have  made  of  the  Land  within  the  Limitts  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswyck, 
aforesaid,  and  also  for  the  Quitt  Rent  hereafter  reserved;  I,  the  said  Thomas 
Dongan,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  me  derived  from  his  most 
Sacred  Majesty  aforesaid,  and  in  the  pursuance  of  the  same,  I  have  given, 
Granted.  Rattified,  released  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  doe  Give, 
Grant,  rattifie,  Release  and  confirme  unto, 

[The  names  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants,  as  before  recited], 
the  present  ffreeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswick,  and 


350  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

th^ir  he;rs,  successors  and  assigns.  All  these  before  recited  Tracts  and 
parcells  of  Land  within  the  Limitts  and  bounds  aforesaid,  butt  more  par- 
ticularly within  the  Limitts  and  bounds  that  was  adjudged  and  determined 
by  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Governo1-  Lovelace,  which  hereafter  shall, 
forever,  bee  deemed  and  esteemed  the  bounds  and  Limitts  between  the 
Towne  of  New  Towne  and  Boswick,  any  Pattent,  grant  or  conveyance  to  the 
contrary  hereof,  in  any  wise,  notwithstanding ;  and  also,  all  and  singular  the 
houses,  messu  ges,  Tenements,  fencings,  Buildings,  Gardens,  Orchards, 
Trees,  Woods,  Underwoods,  Pastures,  feedings,  Comonage  of  Pastures,  mea- 
dows, Marshes,  Lakes,  Ponds,  Creeks,  harbours,  Rivers,  Rivolletts,  Runns, 
Brooks,  Streams,  Highwayes,  Easements,  mines,  mineralls,  Quarryes,  ffish- 
ins:.  hunting,  hawking  and  fowling  (Royal  mines  only  excepted),  and  like- 
wise, all  and  singular  the  allotments,  Divissions  and  Settlements,  Land  and 
Plantacons  that  have  been  settled  and  improved  by  the  respective  inhabitants 
of  the  said  Towne,  within  the  Limitts  aforesaid,  together  with  all  and 
singular  the  Rights,  Libertyes,  Priviledges,  Hereditamts,  Profitts,  advantages 
and  appurtenances  whatsoever,  to  the  said  Tract  of  Land,  and  Respective 
Settlements,  Allotments  and  Divisions,  belonging,  or  in  any  wise,  appurtain- 
ing,  or  accepted,  Reputed,  taken,  knowne  or  occupied  as  Parte,  Parcell,  or 
member  thereof,  to  have  and  to  hold  all  and  singular  the  aforecited  tract  and 
parcell  of  Land  &  premissess,  with  y  and  every  of  their  appurtenances,  unto 
the  said 

[The  ffreeholders  and  inhabitants,  as  before  recited], 
ffreeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswick,  their,  and  their 
respective  Heirs  and  Assignes  to  the  only  use,  benefitt  and  behooffe  of  them, 
the  said 

[The  ffreeholders  and  inhabitants,  as  before  recited] 
ffreeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne  of  Boswick,  their,  and  their 
respective  heirs  and  assignes  forever,  to  bee  holden  of  his  said  Majesty,  his 
heires  &  Successors  in  free  &  comon  Soccage,  according  to  the  tenure  of 
East  Greenwich  in  the  County  of  Kent,  in  his  M'ti's  Realme  of  England ; 
Yielding,  Rendring  &  Paying  there  yearly  and  every  year  forever,  on  the 
five  and  twenty th  day  of  March,  at  New  Yorke  *  * 

*  of  Good  Marchantable  Winter  Wheate,  in  Lieu  and  in  Stead  of 
all  Services  and  Demands  whatsoever,  unto  such  officer  or  officers  as  shall 
be  appointed  to  receive  the  same.  In  Testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused 
these  presents  to  be  Entred  upon  Record  in  the  Secretaryes  Office,  and  the 
seale  of  the  Province  to  be  hereunto  affixed  this  Day  of  February,  1687, 
&  in  the  second  Yeare  of  his  Matis  Reigne. 

Tho.  Dongan. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  351 

It  will  probably  be  noticed  that  the  bounds  of  this  ancient 
patent  do  not  include  the  site  of  the  subsequent  village  of  Williams- 
burgh,  as  defined  in  the  charter  of  1827.  This  probably  arose, 
not  from  any  oversight,  but  from  the  fact  that  the  site  of 
Williamsburgh  was  originally  surveyed  and  owned  by  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company. 

The  good  people  of  Bush  wick,  in  common  with  other  towns, 
had  suffered  so  long  from  the  misrule  of  the  bigoted  Duke  of 
York,  James  the  II,  that  the  news  of  his  abdication,  in  1G88,  and 
the  succession  to  the  English  throne  of  his  daughter  Mary,  and 
her  husband  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  was  received  with  a 
general  outburst  of  heartfelt  joy.  The  auspicious  event  was  cele- 
brated by  a  convivial  entertainment  given  at  the  house  of  Gabriel 
Sprong,  to  which  most  of  the  residents  of  Bushwick  were  invited. 
Isaac  Remsen  delivered  a  short,  but  eloquent  address,  reviewing 
the  griefs  to  which  the  town  had  been  subjected  by  the  English, 
since  their  conquest  of  New  Netherland,  in  1664;  and  expressing 
an  earnest  hope  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  would  soon  restore  to 
the  province  a  separate  government,  and  that  the  good  old  lan- 
guage of  the  fatherland  would  again  be  generally  adopted.  He 
reminded  them  how  little  they  and  their  fathers  before  them,  had 
valued  the  privileges  and  blessings  enjoyed  by  them  before  that 
memorable  day,  when  the  brave  Stuyvesant  had  unwillingly 
surrendered  the  colony,  and  the  trust  which  he  had  so  long  and 
so  ably  defended.  Then  there  were  no  quarrels,  no  differences 
among  them;  like  one  great  family  they  had  lived  together, 
using  individually  every  effort  for  the  good  of  the  commonwealth. 
The  English  came,  and  with  heavy  taxes,  loss  of  privileges,  etc. 
But  the  Prince  of  Orange,  surely,  would  not  neglect  the  interests 
of  a  colony,  which  was  mostly  settled  by  the  descendants  of  his 
own  countrymen ;  and  it  was  his  interest  not  to  forget  this,  for 
on  them  he  could  most  rely  in  case  of  war  and  invasion.  Jacob 
Eyerse,  then  proposed  the  health  and  long  reign  of  William  and 
Mary,  which  was  honored  by  the  company  in  a  full  bumper  of 
good  cider,  and  the  company  separated  in  high  spirits. 

The  misguided  zeal  or  ambition,  however,  of  certain  persons 
who  were  impatient  of  delay,  defeated  the  designs  of  the  new 


352  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

government,  and  involved  the  province  in  scenes  of  turmoil  and 
strife.  Leisler's  well  meant,  but  rash  assumption  of  government, 
the  consequent  opposition  of  a  great  part  of  the  community,  who 
considered  his  conduct  as  disloyal,  his  subsequent  deposition,  by 
the  arrival  of  Gov.  Slaughter,  in  1691,  his  trial,  and  execution, 
forming  in  the  whole  a  tragedy  of  rapid  and  startling  interest, 
afforded  little  opportunity  for  quiet. 

Added  to  these  things,  the  people  of  Long  Island  were  much 
aggravated  by  the  imperious  and  severe  course  adopted  by  the 
civil  officers,  magistrates,  etc.,  appointed  over  them,  and  their 
republican  blood  boiled  over  at  the  insults  and  exactions  too  fre- 
quently heaped  upon  them.  Owing  to  these  reasons,  and  pro- 
bably to  some  others  not  now  so  well  understood,  the  Dutch  towns, 
of  Kings  county  especially,  from  the  year  1691  to  1698,  or  there- 
about, were  in  a  constant  ferment  of  dissatisfaction.  Bush  wick, 
especially,  seems  to  have  abounded  with  these  restless  spirits. 
On  the  20th  of  August,  1693,  Urian  Hagell  of  that  town,  together 
with  two  others  of  Brooklyn,  endeavored  to  stir  up  sedition 
among  the  crowd,  who  had  assembled  at  a  general  training  of  the 
Kings  county  militia,  on  Flatland  plains.  Captain  Jacques 
Cortelyou  deposed  before  the  court  of  sessions,  that,  "  being  in 
arms  at  the  head  of  his  company,"  he  heard  Hagell  say  to  the 
people  then  in  arms  on  said  plains,  in  Dutch,  these  mutinous, 
factious  and  seditious  words,  following,  viz  :  "  Slaen  wij-der  onder, 
wij  seijn  drie  $•  egen  een  ;  "  in  English :  "  Let  us  knock  them  down,  we 
are  three  to  their  one." *  Hagell  subsequently  confessed  his  error, 
and  was  released  with  a  fine. 

The  women,  also,  participated  in  the  disorders  of  the  times,  for 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1694,  Eachel,  the  wife  of  John  Luquer,  and  the 
widow  Jonica  Schamp,  both  of  Bushwick,  were  presented  before 
the  court  of  sessions,  for  having,  on  the  24th  of  January  previous, 
assaulted  Capt.  Peter  Praa,  and  "  teare  him  by  the  hair  as  he  stood 
at  the  head  of  his  company,  at  Boswyck."  They,  too,  were  heavily 
fined,  and  released  after  making  due  confession  of  their  fault.2 

1  Rec.  Ct.  Sess.,  in  Old  Road  Book  (p.  19,  20),  in  City  Hall,  Brooklyn,  dates  of  in- 
dictment and  deposition,  Oct.  11,  1693. 

2  Rec.  Ct.  Sess.,  in  Old  Road  Book,  City  Hall,  Brooklyn,  p.  25. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


And  again,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1097,  certain  citizens  of 
Bush  wick  were  implicated  in  riotous  proceedings  at  the  Court 
House  in  Flatbush,  as  before  related.1 

In  1706,  the  improved  lands  assessed  in  Bushwick,  as  then  in 
fence,  were  as  follows  : 


Owners.  Acres. 

llackert  Ilendrickse  (widow),       -  186 

Peter  Praa, 68 

Humphrey  Clay,  -  52 

•Peter  de  Wit's  widow,     ...  96 

Charles  Fountain,         ...  50 

Teunis  Wort  man,  97 

Francis  Titus,       ....  126 

James  Bobyne,  50 

John  Meseroll,     -        -        -         -  170 

Jurian  Hagell,          ....  95 

Cornelia  Van  Katts,     -        -        -  108 

John  Luquier,          ....  108 

John  Luquier's  Mill,    ...  25 

Philip  Volkert's,     ....  54 

Peter  Layston,      ....  50 

Joost  Camp, 40 

Jochem  Verscheur,      ...  60 

Auck  Hegeman,  40 

Peter  Williams,  ....  60 

Joost  Dyeye, 107 


Owners. 
Garret  Cooke, 
[Ja]  Cobus  Collier,  - 
William  West,    - 
Derick  Andriese, 
Cornelius  Laguson, 
Hendrick  Jansen,    - 
Gtysbert  Bogert,  - 
Dorothy  Verscheur, 
Gabon  (or  Galen)  Laqiull, 
Ann  Andriessen, 
Gabriel  Sprong, 


Acres. 

N 

-  20 

u 

-  14 
52 

-  54 
10 

-  70 
36 

-  30 
16 


Teunis  Titus, 47 


Hendrick  De  Forest, 
Jacobus  Jansen, 
Charles  Folkerts, 
John  Hendrick, 
Frederic  Syrnonds, 


14 
20 
110 
26 
61 


Philip  Xagell, 13 


Total  acres, 


2,443 


Assessors. 


Chas.  L.  Fountain 

Peter  Praa, 

Peter  Cortilleau. —  Surveyor. 


'■'\ 


On  the  12th  of  August,  1708,  the  town  of  Bushwick  received 
from  Gov.  Cornbury,  a  new  patent,  confirmatory  of  that  previously 
granted  by  Gov.  Nicolls.2 

During  the  administration  of  Lord  Cornbury,  the  colony  was 
called  upon  to  exert  all  its  energy  in  furnishing  men,  provisions 
and  munitions  of  war,  for  the  earlier  colonial  wars.  In  connection 
with  this  war,  tradition  has  preserved  a  most  romantic  and  touching 
episode,  which  occurred  in  town  of  Bushwick.  Peter  Andriese, 
a  young  man  of  energy  and  means,  was  about  to  be  married  to 


1  See  vol.  i,  208. 

2"Rec'd,  Dec.  12th,  1786.  From  Mr.  Micheal  Connolly,  on  account  of  Mr.  Peter 
Schenck  Publick  securities,  which  with  the  Interest  allowed  thereon,  amount  to 
thirty-five  pounds  five  shillings  in  full  for  the  amount  of  Quit  Rent,  and  a  commuta- 
tion for  the  future  Quit  Rent,  that  would  have  arisen  on  Patent  granted  to  Boswick, 
Kings  county,  dated  August  12th,  1708. 

"£35.o.  Gerard  Bancker,  Treasurer." 

45 


354  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  lovely  daughter  of  Jan  Stryker,  of  Flatbush,  when,  having 
become  acquainted  with  one  of  the  newly  appointed  officers  of 
the  expedition,  he  was  induced  to  enlist  in  the  army.  The  con- 
sternation of  his  friends,  and  even  that  of  his  bride,  was  not  able 
to  depress  his  spirits,  or  to  change  his  purpose,  and  he  departed, 
leaving  them  in  a  fearful  apprehension  of  danger.  Days,  months 
and  years  passed  by,  his  bride  every  hour  expecting  to  hear  of 
her  betrothed,  but  in  vain.  At  last,  overcome  by  sorrow  and 
hope  deferred,  death  made  her  his  victim,  and  the  same  day  that 
she  was  buried,  Andriese  unexpectedly  made  his  appearance  in 
town.  For  years  he  had  been  a  captive  among  a  tribe  of  the 
Northern  Indians,  and  had  returned  —  alas,  too  late. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


855 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  BUSH  WICK,  1700- 18G9. 

In  the  absence  of  any  ecclesiastical  records,  we  have  no  evidence 
of  the  organization  of  a  church,  or  the  erection  of  a  house  of  wor- 
ship, in  this  town,  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  last  century. 
"  A  part  of  the  communion  service  still  in  use,"  says  Prime, 
"  bears  the  date  of  1708,  from  which  it  is  inferred  that  the  church 


THE    OLD    BUSHWICK    CHURCH,    IN    1828. 
(Bushwicz  Avenue,  between  Conselyea  and  Seilllian  Streets,   ED) 


was  formed  about  that  time.     There  is  also  a  receipt  extant,  for  a 
church  bell,  dated  in  1711,  which  renders  it  probable  that  the 


356  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

"house  of  worship  had  been  erected  not  long  before."  This  edifice, 
which  is  still  remembered  by  many  aged  persons  among  us,  was 
octagon  in  form,  with  a  very  high  and  steep  pyramidal  roof,  ter- 
minating in  an  open  cupola  or  belfry,  the  whole  greatly  resembling 
a  haystack.  Externally,  being  constructed  of  frame  work,  it  was 
dimunitive  and  rustic  in  aspect ;  internally,  it  was  a  mere  inclosure, 
without  pews  or  gallery,  till  near  the  close  of  the  century,  the  con- 
gregation furnishing  themselves  with  benches  or  chairs.  In  1790, 
the  building  received  a  new  roof;  and,  in  1795,  a  front  gallery 
was  erected,  and  the  ground  floor  furnished  with  pews.  It  was 
taken  down  in  1840. 

The  people  of  Bushwick  constituted  a  part  of  the  Collegiate 
church  of  the  county,  and  as  such,  were  ministered  to  by  the 
pastors  of  the  Five  Dutch  towns.  According  to  the  preceding 
dates,  of  course,  Messrs.  Freeman  and  Antonides  were  the  first 
pastors,  and  preached  here  alternately  every  third  sabbath.  There 
is  still  extant  a  receipt  from  the  former,  for  salary,  in  1709.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  pastorate,  till  about  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century,  will  be  found  in  a  previous  chapter  of  this 
work.1 

In  1787,  the  Eev.  Peter  Lowe  was  installed  here  as  collegiate 
pastor  with  the  Rev.  Martinus  Schoonmaker,  who  resided  at 
Flatbush.  Having  withdrawn  from  the  oversight  of  this  church 
to  the  exclusive  charge  of  the  associate  churches  of  Flatbush  and 
Flatlands,  he  closed  his  labors  here  in  the  year  1808,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1811  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bassett.  Mr.  Lowe's  bio- 
graphy has  been  given  on  page  192  of  our  first  volume. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bassett,  his  successor,  was  a  native  of  Bushwick, 
where  he  was  born,  October  1st,  1764.  Although  bereaved,  during  infancy, 
of  his  father,  Capt.  John  Bassett,  who  was  lost  at  sea  in  the  very  prime  of 
life,  he  yet  managed  to  secure  a  good  education,  and  graduated  at  Columbia 
College,  N.  Y.,  in  1786.  Having  pursued  his  theological  studies  under  Dr. 
Livingston,  he  was  ordained  and  settled,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1787,  as 
colleague  pastor  with  Dr.  Westerlo,  over  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch 
church  of  Albany,  N.  Y.     While  here  he  married  Maria  Hunn,  of  that  city, 

1  Chapter  v,  vol.  i. 


UISToRY  OF  BROOKLYN,  357 

by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  John  and  Ilunn,  and  three  daughters,  whose 
descendants  are  said  to  reside  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  of  KTew  Fork.1 
In   December,  1804,  he  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  in   Albany  M  leaving 

many  warm  friends  in  the  congregation,  who  deeply  regretted  his  departure/'  2 
and  removed  to  the  Boght,  aud  thence  to  his  native  place,  Bushwick,  where 
he  was  duly  installed  in  June,  1811. 

The  following  account  of  his  installation  was  published  in  the  New  York 
Evening  Post,  at  the  time.  "  On  Sunday  morning.  June  2,  by  virtue  of  a 
commission  from  the  Reverend  Chassis  of  New  York,  directed  to  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Lowe  and  Schoonmaker,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bassett,  late  of  Albany, 
was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  of  Bushwick,  by  Dr. 
Lowe,  who  preached  from  Rev.  ii,  10,  "  Be  thou  faithful,  etc."  In  his 
immediate  address  to  the  incumbeut  and  to  the  senior  ministers,  Mr.  Lowe 
was  particularly  interesting  and  impressive,  and  commanded  the  deep  atten- 
tion of  his  auditory.  Divine  service  was  performed  in  the  afternoon  by  Dr. 
Bassett,  who  preached  from  II  Thessalonians  iii,  1,  "  Pray  for  us."  His 
discourse  was  remarkably  animated  and  pathetic  throughout,  and  when 
respectively  addressing  himself  to  the  reverend  gentlemen  who  officiated  in 
the  forenoon,  to  his  venerable  colleague  in  the  ministry,  to  the  aged  divines 
who  attended,  to  the  elders  and  deacons  and  congregation  at  large;  and, 
while  he  especially  recalled  the  revered  memories  of  Westerlo  and  Johnson, 
the  cheek  of  fervent  piety  was  bedewed  with  tears.  This  event,  long  wished 
and  prayed  for,  is  at  length  happily  realized.  The  ancient  and  respected  town 
of  Bushwick,  which  has  hitherto  depended  on  distant  periodical  services,  is 
now  blessed  with  a  regular,  permanent  ministry,"  etc.,  etc. 

Dr.  Bassett  remained  in  charge  of  the  church  of  Bushwick  until  1824,  when 
he  was  suspended  from  the  ministry,  for  intemperance,  and  died  on  the  4th 
of  February  of  that  year,  aged  59  years.  His  remains,  which  at  first  were 
buried  in  the  ground  attached  to  the  church,  were  subsequently  removed  to 
the  vault  of  his  wife's  family  at  Albany. 

Mr.  Bassett  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  erudition.  He  was  an  excellent 
Hebrew  scholar,  as  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  he  was,  in  1797,  appointed 
by  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  church,  to  fill  the 
chair  of  professorship  in  Queen's  (now  Rutger's)  College,  New  Brunswick, 

1  Tltompson's  History  of  Long  Island,  11, 1G2.  Dr.  Rogers,  in  History  of  Reformed 
Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Albany,  1858,  p.  33,  states  that  four  still  survive. 

aDr.  Rogers,  in  History  of  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Albany,  1858.  p. 
33,  states  that  upon  his  retirement  from  that  church  the  consistory  voted  to  pay 
him  an  annuity  of  $562.50,  for  the  term  of  his  natural  life. 


358  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

N.  J.,  which  position  he  held  for  many  years.1  He  was,  also,  a  thorough 
classical  scholar,  and  generally  had  several  young  men  in  his  family  and 
enjoying  his  instruction.  Although  not  gifted  with  great  powers  of  imagi- 
nation or  eloquence,  he  was  a  sound  and  edifying  preacher ;  and  the  history 
of  Brooklyn  during  the  war  of  1812,  attests  his  fervent  and  lofty  patriotism.2 
It  may  be  further  mentioned  as  a  proof  of  his  ability,  that  being  equally 
familiar  with  the  Dutch,  as  with  the  English  language,  he  undertook  the 
translation  of  Vonderdonk' s  History  of  New  Netherlands  for  publication, 
but  by  some  means  the  manuscript  was  lost,  and  the  task  was  subsequently 
repeated  by  the  late  Gen  Jeremiah  Johnson. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Bassett's  death,  a  call  was  given  to  the  present 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Meeker.  He  is  the  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Esther  (Headly)  Meeker,  was  born  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J., 
Oct.  17,  1799,  graduated  at  Columbia  College  in  1821,  was 
licensed  to  preach  in  1824,  and  was  installed  over  this  church, 
February  27,  1825  or  1826.  After  remaining  here  about  five  years, 
he  was  called  to  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  of  Jersey  City,  but 
after  an  absence  of  some  six  months,  returned  again  in  Nov.,  1830, 
and  still  continues  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  affectionate  respect  and  esteem  of  an  intelli- 
gent and  harmonious  congregation. 

1  During  this  period  he  engaged  the  services  of  a  colleague,  Rev.  John  Barent 
Johnson,  likewise  a  native  of  Kings  county,  who  was  installed  in  1796,  and  who 
subsequently  became  the  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  of  Brooklyn.  See 
vol.  i,  194. 

2  See  vol.  i,  402. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  359 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BUSHWICK,  DURING  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 

The  Revolutionary  history  of  the  town  is  brief,  and  by  no  means 
so  interesting  as  that  of  its  neighbor,  Brooklyn;  and  its  Revolu- 
tionary spirit,  outspoken  and  free  at  first,  was,  like  that  of 
Brooklyn,  also,  quickly  nipped  in  the  bud  by  the  disastrous  re- 
sult of  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  August,  1776.  Previous  to 
that  event,  during  the  year  1775,  the  popular  sentiment  and  action 
was  at  once  loyal  and  energetic  in  behalf  of  the  American  cause ; 
Bushwick  was  then  represented  in  the  First  New  York  Provincial 
Congress,  and  also,  at  the  subsequent  sessions  of  the  same  body, 
in  '75  and  '76;  and  at  the  conventions  of  the  state  in  1776  and'  77, 
by  Mr.  Theodorus  Polhemus  ;  and  many  of  her  prominent  citizens, 
such  as  Ab'm  Ranst,  Ab'm  Luquere,  John  Titus,  Joost  Duryea, 
Alexander  Whaley  and  others,  were  foremost  in  all  county  and 
local  action  which  was  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of  their 
country.  At  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  and  in  the  retreat  which 
followed,  Bushwick  was  represented  by  a  militia  company  under 
command  of  Capt.  John  Titus,1  and  we  have  certain  evidence  that 
one  of  their  number,  at  least,  made  his  mark  upon  the  advancing 
foe.2  After  that  unfortunate  battle,  the  town  was  subjected  to  all 
the  inconveniences  and  evils  of  an  armed  occupation.  In  the 
month  of  November,  1776,  a  regiment  of  Hessians,  under  Col. 
Rahl  took  their  winter  quarters  here,  and  constructed  barracks  on 

1  In  a  list  of  officers  chosen  by  the  different  companies  in  Kings  Co.,  who  have  signed 
the  Declaration,  and  taken  their  commission,  among  the  Light  Horse,  Jacob  Bloom, 
2d  lieut. ;  and  Peter  Wykoff,  quarter-master  of  the  militia,  John  Titus,  capt. ;  Ab'm  Van 
Ranst,  1st  lieut. ;  Peter  Colyer,  2d  lieut.  ;  John  Skillman,  ensign. —  Onderdonk's  Rev. 
Rem.  King?  Co.,  sec.  782. 

2Wm.  Van  Cott,  of  Bushwick,  shot  a  British  officer  who  was  engaged  in  re- 
connoitering  the  American  lines  on  Fort  Putnam  and  then  put  up  his  gun,  saying  he 
had  done  his  part  for  that  day. 


360  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  land  then  belonging  to  Abraham  Luquere ;  the  timber  for  said 
barracks  being  taken,  with  military  freedom,  from  the  Wallabout 
swamp.  Many  of  the  troops  were  also  billeted  on  the  inhabitants. 
The  leading  patriots  were  either  in  active  service,  or  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  their  homes  and  estates  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
the  invaders,  and,  in  some  cases,  to  confiscation.  Their  families 
were  subjected  to  the  arbitrary  authority  of  British  officials,  and  to 
the  insults  or  depredations  of  the  soldiery  who  were  quartered  upon 
them.  Their  woodlands,  brush  wood  and  fencing  were  rapidly 
appropriated  to  camp  uses,  their  teams  impressed  into  the  king's 
service,  and,  in  many  ways,  they  were  made  to  feel  the  power  of 
their  conquerors.  One  instance  has  been  related  to  us  where  the 
British  troopers  wantonly  turned  their  horses  loose  into  a  rebel's 
barn,  up  to  their  bellies  in  the  threshed  wheat,  yet  we  believe  that 
such  flagrant  acts  of  outrage,  were  of  rare  occurrence,  and  always 
severely  punished  when  discovered  by  the  officers.  Thefts  of 
garden  vegetables,  poultry,  etc.,  etc.,  were  common,  and  were  never 
punished  unless  the  offender  was  caught  in  the  act ;  indeed  it  was 
generally  understood  between  the  officers  and  their  men  that 
punishment  was  meted  out,  not  for  theft,  but  for  being  discovered 
in  it ! 

Of  the  auxiliary  troops  of  the  British  army,  Mr.  T.  W.  Field 
says,  quoting  Gen.  Johnson's  Manuscript  Recollections  of  the  Revolu- 
tion :  "  Col.  Rahl  took  up  his  quarters  in  Bushwick,  with  a 
regiment  of  Hessians.  They  constructed  barracks  on  the  land  of 
Abraham  Luqueer,  although  many  of  them  were  also  quartered 
on  the  inhabitants.  The  regiment  of  Col.  Rahl  made  free  use  of 
the  wood  in  the  Wallabout  swamp,  which  extended  along  north 
of  the  Cripplcbush  road,  from  the  bay  to  Newtown  creek."  In 
the  humane  treatment  of  a  conquered  enemy,  the  Hessian  soldiers, 
after  they  became  acquainted  with  the  people  of  the  island,  would 
compare  with  the  British,  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter. 
The  testimony  of  the  prisoners  of  the  Wallabout  prison  ships  is 
often  highly  creditable  to  their  humanity.  They  had  first,  how- 
ever, to  be  disabused  of  the  conviction  so  craftily  impressed  by  the 
British,  of  the  barbarity  and  savage  cruelty  of  the  Americans. 
But  their   cupidity   and   proneness   to   commit  petty  robberies 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

(appropriating  every  species  of  property  upon  which  they  could, 
without  much  personal  risk,  lay  their  hands)  has  begot  for  them 

the  reputation  of  arrant  thieves.  It  was  seldom,  however,  that 
they  wantonly  injured  the  property  of  others,  as  they  did  in  the 
of  Hendrick  Sivvdam,  situated  upon  what  was  then  known  as 
New  Bushwick  lane  (now  Evergreen  avenue,  in  the  Eighteenth 
ward)  which  connected  the  Jamaica  turnpike  with  the  Cripplebush 
road  to  Xewtown.  His  house  which  still  stands,1  is  a  venerable  and 
well  preserved  specimen  of  Dutch  architecture,  the  lower  story 
built  of  stone  of  sufficient  thickness,  almost,  to  serve  for  the  walls 
of  a  fortress  ;  is  lighted  by  small  windows  with  long  panes  of  glass 
set  in  heavy  sash,  which  give  it  a  quaint  air  of  peering  through 
spectacles.  Its  walls,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  family, 
were  erected  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago,  and 
the  house  was  located,  according  to  the  invariable  practice  of  the 
old  Holland  settlers,  in  a  little  hollow  where  it  would  be  protected 
from  the  sweep  of  the  dreaded  north  wind.  The  airy  site  and 
broad  prospect,  which  so  entice  the  newer  occupants  of  Brooklyn 
soil,  had  no  attractions  for  the  phlegmatic  and  comfort  loving 
Dutch  race.  The  old  farmers  quietly  hid  their  houses  away  in  the 
little  valleys  and  turns  of  the  road,  much  as  a  cautious  fowl  creeps 
into  a  hedge  and  constructs  its  nest  for  a  long  incubation.  Hen- 
drick Suydam,  like  his  brother  the  stout  Lambert  Suydam  of 
Bedford,  captain  of  the  Kings  county  troop  of  horse,  was  a  sound 
whig,  though  compelled  from  his  situation  in  the  midst  of  the 
British  camp  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  or  suffer  the  confine- 
ment of  a  fetid  and  infected  prison,  with  numbers  of  his  Bushwick 
neighbors.  He  could  not,  however,  obtain  his  freedom  from  an 
infection  scarcely  less  pestiferous  than  the  other  alternative,  the 
lodgment,  in  his  house,  of  a  squad  of  Hessian  soldiers.  So  filthy 
were  their  habits,  that,  in  the  summers  succeeding  their  occupancy 
of  the  houses  of  Bushwick,  Brooklyn  and  Flatbush,  where  they 
had  been  quartered,  a  malignant  fever  ensued  which  carried 
off  numbers  of  the  inhabitants.  In  consequence  of  their  peculiar 
habits,   so   abhorrent   to  the   fastidious   neatness   of  our  Dutch 


1 A  view  of  this  house  may  be  found  in  the  volume  alluded  to  in  previous  note. 
46 


362  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

ancestors,  these  Hessians  were  termed  the  Dirty  Blues.  During 
the  occupation  of  the  Suydam  house,  a  Hessian  captain,  for  want 
of  other  occupation,  or  possibly  to  spite  his  Dutch  host,  chopped 
with  his  sword  several  large  pieces  from  one  of  the  side  posts  of 
the  doorway.  As  a  memento  of  the  old  troublous  times,  and  to 
keep  green  the  memory  of  the  wrongs  which  so  deeply  embittered 
him,  the  old  whig  would  never  permit  the  defacement  to  be  re- 
paired. With  true  Dutch  pertinacity,  in  the  same  humor,  his 
descendants  have  very  commendably  preserved  the  tokens  of  the 
detested  occupation  of  their  domicile  by  a  foreign  enemy  and  the 
marks  of  the  Hessian  sword  are  still  apparent." 

The  greatest  trouble  experienced  by  the  farmers  during  the  war, 
was  from  the  tories,  or  cow-boys,  who  were  amenable  to  no  law, 
and  influenced  by  no  motives  of  humanity  or  honesty.  Old  Mrs. 
Meserole,  who  lived  on  Green-Point,  used  often  to  say  that,  though 
residing  alone  with  a  young  family  around  her,  she  was  never 
molested  by  the  British  officers,  or  their  men,  but  she  lived  in 
constant  dread  of  the  tories.  Such,  also,  was  the  testimony  of  the 
late  Gen.  Jeremiah  Johnson,  who  says,  "in  that  gloomy  and  dark 
period,  there  were  sons  of  consolation  and  comfort  in  the  British 
army ;  the  majority  of  the  officers  were  honorable  and  generous 
gentlemen,  who  despised  to  aggravate  the  horrors  of  war,  and  I 
take  pleasure  in  stating  the  truth,  and  supporting  the  same  by 
incidents  of  kindness  towards  my  mother  and  her  family.  On  the 
27th  of  August,  in  the  morning,  the  noise  of  the  battle  terrified 
my  mother,  and  she  determined  to  go  to  her  father's  at  Newtown ; 
a  wagon  and  horses  were  prepared,  and  she  set  out  with  four 
children  and  a  few  articles  of  clothing,  for  her  father's  house.  The 
wagon  was  driven  by  myself,  being  then  ten  years  of  age.  We 
arrived  in  safety,  in  a  tory  neighborhood.  The  succeeding  night 
our  horses  were  stolen ;  on  the  next  afternoon  we  were  ordered 
away  by  a  Captain  Man,  and  on  the  next  morning,  by  the  assist- 
ance of  an  uncle,  we  were  enabled  to  return  to  the  Wallabout. 
Newtown  was  bad,  but  our  own  home  appeared  worse,  for  we 
were,  to  appearance,  in  the  midst  of  the  rovers  of  the  army.  But 
providence  did  provide.  On  the  day  after  our  return,  two  officers 
of  the  55th  Regiment  (one  of  whom  knew  my  father),  came  to 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  868 

the  house  to  inquire  for  him;  my  mother  frankly  told  him,  that 
her  husband  was  absent  with  the  American  army,  aa  a  captain  ;  the 
officers  offered  their  protection,  and  sent  a  safe-guard  of  two 
soldiers  to  protect  the  house  and  family  from  plunderers;  they 
called  daily  to  see  the  family,  until  the  regiment  removed.  After 
their  removal,  a  German  colonel  replaced  the  safe-guard.  Thus 
was  a  rebel  family  protected  by  men  of  honor." 

In  RMngtorCs  Gazette,  October  23,  1779,  we  find  the  following 
statement : 

$50  Reward  offered  by  Gov.  Tryon.  George  and  Peter  Duryea,  with 
their  wives,  Sarah  and  Catherine,  being  one  family,  made  oath  before 
Richard  Alsop,  Esq..  of  Newtown,  that  at  nine  in  the  evening  of  Oct.  15, 
four  or  five  men  disguised,  meanly  habited,  with  faces  blackened,  armed 
with  a  gun,  bayonet  fixed,  a  pistol,  a  number  of  clubs  and  a  cutlass,  forced 
in  their  house  at  Bushwick,  west  side  of  the  creek  (some  of  the  party  being 
at  the  same  time  posted  outside  at  the  doors  and  windows),  and  assaulted 
them.  George  received  four  dangerous  blows  on  his  head,  which  settled  him 
on  the  floor.  Not  quite  deprived  of  reason,  he  crawled  under  a  bed,  and 
laid  still  to  avoid  being  murdered.  Peter  received  six  wounds  about  his 
head  and  one  on  his  arm,  but  at  length  escaped  and  alarmed  his  neighbors. 
Meantime  the  villains  broke  open  two  desks,  and  a  cupboard,  and  took  £220 
in  good  cash  (all  gold  and  silver),  a  pair  of  silver  knee  buckles,  marked  P.  D.> 
silver  spoons,  I.  D.,  and  a  silver  bowl.  Previous  to  the  robbery,  Catherine 
was  seized  by  the  throat,  thrown  on  the  floor,  and  almost  choked  to  death. 

Rappelje's  tavern  at  the  Cross-roads,  was  the  favorite  rendezvous 
of  these  refugees,  and  as  long  as  they  infested  the  towns,  there 
was  no  quiet  or  safety  in  the  land.  After  the  British  left  the 
country,  they  disappeared,  many  of  them  going  to  Nova  Scotia. 

A  battalion  of  guides  and  pioneers,  composed  of  three  com- 
panies, were  quartered  in  the  town  of  Bushwick,  from  1778  until 
November,  1783.  They  were  a  set  of  notorious  villains,  collected 
from  almost  every  part  of  the  country,  and  organized  under  the 
command  of  Captains  McPherson,  Williams,  Van  Allen  and 
Purdy.  Williams  and  Purdy  were  from  Westchester  county, 
Van  Allen  from  Bergen  county,  N".  J.  and  McPherson  from  the 
south.  This  command  supplied  the  British  army  with  guides  and 
spies  for  every  part  of  the  country,  and  whenever  an  expedition  was 


364  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

organized  to  attack  any  place,  drafts  were  made  on  this  battalion. 
After  the  peace,  these  men  dared  not  remain  in  this  country,  and 
were'  not  wanted  in  Britain.  Nova  Scotia  was  their  only  place  of 
refuge,  and  thither  they  went,  where  proper  provision  was  made 
for  them  by  the  British  authority. 

After  the  provisional  treaty  of  peace,  these  guides  returned 
to  quarters  at  Bushwick.  They  numbered  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  under  command  of  Capt.  McPherson,  and  were  en- 
camped on  the  farm  of  Abm.  Yan  Ranst,  then  an  exile.1  The 
dwelling,  which  stood  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  north- 
ward from  Bushwick  church,  was  occupied  by  the  captain  himself, 
who  kept  a  guard  of  honor,  and  a  sentinel  constantly  stationed 
at  his  door.  In  this  connection  we  may  relate  the  following 
anecdote,  as  given  in  the  Manuscript  Recollections  of  Gen.  Johnson : 

"  In  the  month  of  August,  1783,  on  a  fine  evening,  seven  young  whigs 
were  together  along  the  shore  opposite  to  Corker's  hook,  the  tide  being  then 
quite  high.  Two  British  long  boats  had  drifted  on  the  shore,  where  they 
had  lain  for  some  time.  It  was  proposed  to  take  the  boats  up  Bushwick 
creek  and  lay  them  on  the  meadow  of  John  Skillman,  as  prizes,  which 
was  forthwith  done.  A  few  days  afterwards,  in  the  month  of  September, 
several  of  the  party,  being  at  the  Fly  Market  in  New  York,  were  told  that 
Capt.  McPherson  had  caused  the  boats  to  be  removed  to  his  house,  and  had 
purchased  paint  and  other  material  with  which  to  put  the  boats  in  order  for 
his  own  use.  It  was  immediately  resolved  to  remove  the  boats  that  night, 
from  the  captain's  quarters.  A  gallon  of  shrub,  some  crackers  and  a  salmon 
were  purchased  for  the  expedition,  a  small  hill  on  John  Skillman's  land  was 
designated  as  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  nine  o'clock  was  named  as  the 
hour.  Three  of  the  party  brought  up  a  boat  with  oars  to  row  away  the  boats 
with,  and  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  whole  party,  consisting  of  William  Miller, 
Joseph  and  Francis  Skillman,  John  Bogart,  John  Conselyea,  Francis  Titus 
and  the  writer,  were  assembled  at  the  appointed  place.     It  was  a  beautiful 

1  Mr.  Van  Ranst  was  clerk  of  the  county  committee,  and  1st  lieut.  of  the  Bushwick 
company  of  militia,  and  Aug.  27th,  arrived  at  Harlem,  "  in  a  boat  with  his  family," 
and  reported  that  he  had  heard  that  1,500  men  had  surrounded  the  house  of  Simon 
Duryea,  a  mile  south  of  his  own  residence,  on  the  previous  night,  and  had  taken  his 
arms,  horses  and  wagon.  Also,  that  two  companies  of  militia  near  Bedford,  had 
been  disarmed,  and  perhaps  made  prisoners. —  Journal  Prov.  Cong.,  594. 

All  of  which  is  evidently  more  to  the  credit  of  Lieut.  Van  Ranst's  prudence  than  to 
his  courage. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  365 

moonlit  evening  and  the  soldiers  were  playing  about  the  fields.  The  little 
party  of  whigs  regaled  themselves  with  their  provisions,  uutil  about  ten 
o'clock,  when  two  of  their  number  ventured  to  reconnoitre,  and  returned  with 
the  report  that  the  boats  lay  near  the  house,  that  a  party  were  dancing  and 
frolicking  there,  and  a  sentinel  was  at  the  door.  Meanwhile  a  dark  cloud 
was  rising  in  the  west, foreboding  a  violent  storm.  It  came  on,  aud  then  we 
went,  took  up  the  boats,  carried  them  over  a  stone  wall,  and  dragging  them 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  launched  them  into  Skillman's  creek. 
When  we  took  the  boats  the  sentinel  at  the  door  had  deserted  his  post;  we 
found  a  fine  marquee  pitched  near  by,  which  was  trembling  in  the  rising 
storm.  I  cut  a  few  shy  lights  in  the  top,  and  then  severing  the  weather 
braces,  which  sang  like  fiddle  strings,  it  fell  prostrate.  So  violent  was  the 
lightning  and  rain,  that  we  did  not  see  a  living  person,  besides  ourselves,  be- 
fore we  were  out  of  Bushwick  creek  with  the  boats,  which  we  took  up  the 
river  to  John  Miller's,  opposite  Blackwell's  island,  and  left  them  in  his  barn, 
returning  to  Francis  Titus's  in  our  boat,  at  sunrise.  In  passing  down  Bush- 
wick creek,  one  of  our  prizes  filled  with  water,  but  we  did  not  abandon  her. 
On  our  arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  the  storm  was  over,  the  moon  shone 
brightly  again,  and  we  were  hailed  by  a  sentinel  who  threatened  to  fire  upon 
us,  to  which  we  answered  roughly,  and  passed  on  our  way. 

"  The  next  day  all  Bushwick  was  in  an  uproar.  The  Yankees  were  charged 
with  infringing  the  treaty  of  peace ;  the  sentinels  and  guards  who  lay  in  Mr. 
Skillman's  barn,  within  fifty  yards  of  the  place  where  the  boats  were  launched, 
were  charged  with  un watchfulness.  It  was  not  known  who  took  the  boats, 
before  November  25, 1783.  The  act  was  caused  by  the  feeling  of  resentment 
which  the  whole  party  had  against  Captain  McPherson.  He  was  a  bad  man, 
and  when  his  soldiers  were  accused  by  neighbors  with  thefts,  and  other 
annoyances,  retorted  upon  their  accusers  with  foul  language,  etc." 

Gen.  Johnson,  under  date  of  January  14,  1847,  adds  that  "  all 
the  members  of  this  party  have  been  dead  several  years,  except 
the  writer,  who  was  the  youngest  of  them." 

Upon  the  occasion  of  the  evacuation  of  the  city  of  !N~ew  York 
by  the  British  army,  and  its  occupation  by  the  Americans, 
November  25th,  '83,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bushwick  met 
and  appointed  December  2d,  as  the  day,  and  the  banks  of  the  East 
river,  in  full  view  of  the  city,  as  a  place  of  rejoicing,  and  sent  the 
following  address  and  invitation  to  Washington  :l 

1  Onderdonk's  Rev.  Reminiscences  Kings  Co.,  p.  203. 


366  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

To  His  Excellency  George  Washington,  Esq.,  General  and  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  Address  of  the  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  Bangs  Co.,  on  Nassau 
Island,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  icho  are  attached  to  the  freedom  and  independence 
of  America. 

With  hearts  full  of  duty  and  acknowledgment  to  the  Supreme  Director  of 

all  human  events,  and  with  the  most  profound  respect  for  your  Excellency, 

we  beg  leave  to  present  you  our  sincere  congratulations,  on  this  glorious  and 

ever  memorable  era   of  the  sovereignty  and   independence  of  the  United 

States  of  America,  sanctioned  by  the  Definitive  Treaty,  and  the  evacuation 

of  the  city  of  New  York;  your  Excellency's  entry  into  which,  with  his 

Excellency  G-ov.  Clinton,  was  with  such  dignity,  order,  and  regulation,  as 

will  redound  to  the  lasting  honor  of  your  Excellency,  be  revered  by  foreign 

powers,  and  certainly  obtain  the  affection  of  many  whose  sentiments  are 

averse  to  that  liberty  which,  with  the  divine  assistance  your  Excellency  has 

so  happily  acquired   for  us.     Our  unfeigned   prayers  will  ever  be  for  your 

health  and  happiness,  whether  you  retire  to  the  private  paths  of  peace,  or 

hereafter  may  be  called  to  move  in  the  busy  scenes  of  war,  in  the  defence  of 

your  country.     With  sincere  affection,  equal  duty  and  respect,  we  humbly 

beg  leave  to  subscribe  ourselves,  in  behalf  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants 

aforesaid. 

Your  Excellency's  very  obedient, 

and  very  humble  servants, 
Philip  Nagel,  Jeremias  Vanderbilt,  Cornelius  Wyckoff, 

Johannes  Bergen,     Barent  Lefferts,  Abraham  Luquere, 

John  Titus,  Abraham  Voorhies,  Elias  Hubbard, 

B.  Van  Brunt,         Stephen  Yan  Voorhies,         Adrian  Van  Brunt, 
Johannes  Covenhoven. 

To  this  address  his  Excellency  returned  the  following  appro- 
priate answer : 

To  the  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  Kings  Co.  on  Nassau  Island 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  who  are  attached  to  the  freedom  and  independ- 
ence of  America. 

Gentlemen  : 

While  you  speak  the  language  of  my  heart,  in  acknowledging  the  magni- 
tude of  our  obligations  to  the  Supreme  Director  of  all  human  events,  suffer 
me  to  join  you  in  the  celebration  of  the  present  glorious  and  ever  memorable 
era,  and  to  return  my  best  thanks  for  your  kind  expressions  in  my  favor.  I 
cannot  but  rejoice  sincerely,  that  the  national  dignity  and  glory  will  be  greatly 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  N .  367 

increased,  in  consequence  of  the  good  order  and  regularity  wliicli __ha»  pre- 
vailed  universally,  since  the  city  of  New  York  has  been  repossessed  by  OS. 
This  conduct  exhibits  to  the  world  a  noble  instance  of  magnanimity,  and  will 
doubtless  convince  any  who.  from  ignorance  or  prejudice,  may  have  been  of 
a  different  sentiment,  that  the  laws  do  govern,  and  that  the  civil  □ 
(rates  are  worthy  of  the  highest  respect  and  confidence.  For  my  own  part, 
gentlemen,  in  whatever  situation  of  life  I  shall  be  hereafter,  my  supplications 
will  ever  ascend  to  heaven  for  the  prosperity  of  my  country  in  general,  and 
for  the  individual  happiness   of  those  who  are  attached  to  the  freedom  and 

independence  of  America. 

Geo.  Washington. 
New  York,  December  1,  '83. 

The  following  account  has  been  preserved  to  us,  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Peace  at  Bushicick,  December  2, 1783  : 

The  day  was  ushered  in  by  hoisting  the  American  flag,  and  firing  a  salute  ; 
an  ox  was  roasted,  and  an  entertainment  provided  to  welcome  their  brethren, 
who  have  suffered  seven  years  exile,  and  who  have  sacrificed  their  all  at  the 
shrine  of  liberty.  After  they  had  all  partook  of  the  feast,  the  following 
toasts  were  drank,  attended  by  a  salute,  huzzaing,  and  music. 

1.  The  United  States  of  America. 

2.  His  most  Christian  Majesty.1 

3.  The  States  of  Holland. 

4.  May  the  State  of  Xew  York  be  entirely  abandoned  by  her  enemies. 

5.  His  Excellency  Gov.  Clinton. 

6.  His  Excellency  Gen'l  "Washington. 

7.  The  Hon.  the  Council. 

8.  The  Hon.  the  House  of  Assembly. 

9.  Prosperity  and  honor  to  the  sons  of  Liberty. 

10.  May  the  memory  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  cause  of  America,  be 

ever  precious  to  her  sons. 

11.  A  free  and  extensive  trade. 

12.  Success  to  agriculture. 

13.  As  the  roaring  of  a  lion  is  to  animals,  so  may  the  frowns  of  America 

be  to  princes. 
The  day  was  spent  in   the  greatest  good  humor,  decency,  and   decorum. 
Every  countenance  displayed,  in  the  most  lively  manner,  the  joy  and  gratitude 
of  their  hearts  upon  this  most  happy  and  important  event;  and  what  added 

1  Of  France. 


368  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

to  the  cheerfulness  of  the  day,  was  the  once  more  beholding  the  metropolis 
of  this  state,  emerging  from  that  scene  of  ruin  and  distress,  which  it  has 
severely  experienced,  during  the  late  contest,  from  a  cruel,  unrelenting,  and 
insulting  foe. 

We  have  been  unable  to  gather  much  satisfactory  evidence 
concerning  the  names  or  services  of  the  patriots  of  Bushwick. 
Besides  those  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages,  we  may  here  re- 
cord the  names  of  John  Provost,1  who  escaped  the  pursuit  of  a 
detachment  of  British  soldiers  on  Green-Point,  and  was  obliged  to 
secrete  himself  for  three  days  in  Cripplebush  swamp,  during  which 
time  he  sustained  life  by  milking  the  cows  which  pastured  there; 
of  John  A.  Meserole,  who  was  taken  and  confined  in  the  Provost 
jail  at  New  York;  of  John  1.  Meserole  who  was  mistaken  for  John 
A.,  while  out  gunning  in  a  skiff,  and  arrested  as  a  spy,  but  sub- 
sequently released;  and  of  Abraham  Meserole,  another  member  of 
the  same  family,  who  was  in  the  American  army.  Jacob  Van  Cott 
and  David  Miller  were  also  in  the  service,  and  taken  prisoners. 
William  Conselyea,  grand-father  of  the  present  William  Conselyea, 
was  taken  during  the  war,  and  hung  over  a  well  and  threatened  in 
order  to  make  him  confess  where  his  money  was;  Nicholas  Wyckoff, 
grandfather  of  the  present  president  of  the  City  Bank,  who  was 
engaged  in  vidette  duty  with  a  troop  of  horse ;  and  Alexander 
Whaley. 

Alexander  Whaley  (or  Whally)  was  one  of  those  decided  characters 
of  whom  we  should  be  glad  to  learn  much  more,  than  we  have  been  able 
to  ascertain,  in  spite  of  much  inquiry  and  research.  He  was  a  blacksmith, 
residing  at  the  Bushwick  Cross  Roads,  on  land  forming  a  part  of  Abraham 
Rapalye's  forfeited  estates,  and  which  he  purchased  at  the  commissioners' 
sale,  March  21,  1785.  (Liber  vi,  Convey.  Kings  Co.,  345).  The  building 
which  Mr.  Whaley  occupied  was  erected  by  himself,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
present  Flushing  avenue,  his  liberty-sign  pole  rising  from  a  little  knoll  some 
twenty  feet  west  of  the  house.  His  blacksmith-shop  was  on  the  site  of  the 
present  house,  east  of  the  old  Whaley  house.  He  died  at  Bushwick,  in 
February,  1833,  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  Bold,  faithful,  and 
patriotic,  and  odd  withal,  he  made  his  mark  upon  the  day  and  generation 

1  Grandfather  of  Hon.  A.  J.  Prevost. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  369 

in  which  he  lived.  His  obituary  notice  (all  too  brief)  says  that  "  he  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  American  liberty,  being  one  of  those  who  assisted  in 
throwing  the  tea  overboard  in  Boston  harbor.  He  was  the  confidential  friend 
of  Washington  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life  he  always  did  his  duty." 

His  patriotism  indeed  always  blazed  out,  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
at  the  sight  of  any  of  the  tory  tribe,  who  lingered  within  the  precincts  of 
Bushwick.  Brave  and  generous  to  a  fault,  he  could  brook  nothing  that 
savored  of  disloyalty  to  the  government,  or  the  country  which  he  had  aided 
to  preserve.  An  example  of  this  is  contained  in  the  following  characteristic 
advertisement,  published  in  the  Long  Island  Star,  of  May  7,  1810  : 

"  Twenty  Dollars  Reward  !  On  Saturday  night,  the  10th  instant, 
about  the  time  when  "  wander  forth  the  sons  of  Belial,  fraught  with  insolence 
and  wine/'  a  gang  of  midnight  desperadoes  proceeded  to  the  property  of*  the 
subscriber,  and  cut  down  his  iigni  together  with  the  Liberty  Pole  from  which 
it  was  suspended.  By  such  dastardly  conduct  did  those  heroic,  children  of 
darkness,  attempt  to  manifest  their  enmity  not  only  to  me,  but  also  to  the 
emblem  of  liberty,  to  which  I  have  reason  to  conclude  they  were  always 
opposed,  and  which  I  have  no  doubt  they  still  abhor.  One  of  my  neighbors 
informs  me  that  he  saw  them  at  a  distance,  galloping  off  as  if  Old  Nick  was 
at  their  horses'  heels  (and  no  doubt  he  was)  as  fast  as  their  horses'  heels 
and  a  guilty  conscience  could  drive  them.  He  says  they  pursued  a 
northerly  direction,  and  supposes  if  they  have  kept  on  at  the  same  rate 
they  started  they  might  by  this  time  have  reached  Nova  Scotia,  where 
the  sight  of  a  liberty  pole  may  no  longer  present  to  their  affrighted 
imaginations,  the  fearful  idea  of  a  gallows,  which,  no  doubt,  they  have  so  long 
and  so  richly  deserved.  There  their  delicate  ears  would  no  longer  be 
annoyed  with  the  terrible  sounds  of  '  Tompkins  and  Liberty/  There  they 
may  sing  without  censure,  '  God  bless  Great  George,  our  King.'  Xor  will 
their  adoption  of  the  name,  as  a  mask,  and  profession  of  attachment  to  the 
principles  of  Washington  be  longer  necessary;  and  from  thence,  I  sincerely 
hope  for  the  good  of  my  country,  and  the  peace  of  society,  they  may  never 
again  return.  Should  they,  however,  not  yet  have  passed  the  lines,  and 
should  they  be  found  skulking  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  whoever 
will  bring  them  forward,  so  that  they  may  be  prosecuted  to  conviction,  shall 
receive  the  above  reward. 

"  Alexander  Whaley. 

"  Bushwick,  May  10th,  1810. 

"P.  S.  It  is  intended  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  to  erect  another  liberty 
pole,  and  this  I  hope  to  accomplish  without  drawing  on  the  funds  of  the 
Washington,  the   Washington  Benevolent,  or  the  Kings  Co.  Humane  Society. 

"  &3T>  Printers  of  News  Papers  in  the  United  States  who  are  of  opinion 
that  they  would  deserve  well  of  their  country,  by  aiding  in  the  detection  of 
those  runaways  will  give  the  above  a  place  in  their  papers." 

47 


370  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Several  estates  were  confiscated,  among  which  were  those  of 
Williams,  Rapalje  and  Titus,  which  latter  person  found  it  convenient 
to  go  to  Nova  Scotia. 

Louis  Warner,  who  lived  near  Cooper's  glue  factory,  Hendrick 
Plaus  and  Christopher  Zimmerman,  who  was  for  many  years  miller  at 
Luquere's  mill,  were  Hessians  who  chose  to  remain  here  after  the 
war.' 

Although  opposite  political  opinions  were  frequently  entertained 
by  different  members  of  the  same  families,  it  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  they  always  acted  honestly  towards  one  another.  Though  a 
great  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bushwick  were  whigs,  the 
royalists  even  were  men  of  peaceable  character,  and  integrity.  This 
fact,  as  recorded  by  a  venerable  eye  witness  of  the  Revolution,1 
speaks  volumes  in  favor  of  the  ancestry  of  Bushwick. 

1  Gen.  J.  Johnson. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  371 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BUSHWICK  AND  WILLIAMSBURGH,  FROM  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE 
REVOLUTION,  UNTIL  1854. 

There  were  in  Bushwick,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  three 
distinct  settlements,  or  centres  of  population,  as  they  may  be  called, 
each  of  which  retained  the  old  Dutch  names,  and  very  much  of 
their  old  Dutch  quaintness  of  appearance.  These  were  het 
dorp,  the  town  plot,  first  laid  out  by  Gov.  Peter  Stuyvesant,  in 
1661,  at  the  junction  of  North  Second  street  and  Bushwick 
avenue ;  het  Kivis  padt,  since  known  as  the  Cross  roads,  at 
the  junction  of  Xew  Bushwick  lane  and  the  Kreupelbush ■  and 
Maspeth  (crossing  of  the  present  Bushwick  avenue  and  the 
Flushing)  road;  and  het  strand,  or  the  strand,  along  the  East 
river  shore. 

Het  Dorp,  or  the  town  plot  of  Bushwick,2  is  perhaps,  the 
most  interesting  locality  to  the  antiquarian,  on  account  of  its 
intimate  connection  with  all  the  earliest  history  of  the  town ;  and 
indeed,  as  Mr.  T.  W.  Field  justly  remarks,  a  There  is  no  portion 
of  our  city  which  still  affords  a  scene  so  primitive  as  the  junction 
of  North  Second  street  and  Bushwick  avenue.  It  was  towards 
this  centre  of  town  life,  that  the  principal  roads  of  the  settlement 
verged,  and  in  every  direction,  as  the  citizen  receded  from  it,  he  re- 
ceded from  civilization.''3  The  view  of  the  old  Bushwick  church, 
(given  on  page  355),  will  perhaps,  convey  to  our  readers  a 
better  idea  of  the  spot,  than  any  description  can  do.  The  ancient 
octagonal  church,  standing  on  the  site  of,  and  facing  the  same 
way  as  the  present  one;  the  wrinkled  and  homely  old  one-story 


1  The  name  of  a  settlement,  or  of  the  farms  on  the  road  from  Bedford  to  the  Cross 
roads,  in  the  vicinity  of  Nostrand  and  Flushing  avenues. 

2  Named  Bushicick  Green,  onT.  W.  Field's  map  of  18o'-3. 

3  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manual  for  1868,  page  452. 


372  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

and  town  house  and  the  school  house  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Wood  point  road,  which  leads  from  the  church  to  a  point  of 
woods  on  the  meadows,  near  Van  Cott  and  Meeker  avenues ; 1 
the  group  of  one-story  Dutch  cottages,  with  their  long  curved 
sloping  roofs,  marking  the  entrance  of  Kyckout  lane,  which  con- 
nected Bush  wick  church  with  Kyckout  or  Lookout  point,  on  the 
East  river,  crossing  Grand  street  near  Tenth,  and  yet  traceable  in 
several  places  by  the  position  of  the  old  houses,  which  formerly 
fronted  upon  it,2  all  these  formed  a  scene  of  primitive  Dutch  life, 
which  must  have  been  exceedingly  attractive  from  its  simplicity 
and  almost  grotesque  quaintness.  And  such  it  remained  until  1835. 
In  1840,  the  old  church  (Map  e,  Fig.  1),  was  replaced  by  the  present 
edifice;  in  1846,  Mespeth  avenue  was  opened  to  Newtown,  and 
several  houses  erected  upon  it,  this  side  of  the  creek.3  The  old 
town  house  yet  stands  (Map  e,  Fig.  2),  and  around  it  centre  the 
memories  of  the  ancient,  civil,  ecclesiastical  and  educational 
glories  of  Bush  wick.  In  front  of  it  (or  more  probably  of  its  prede- 
cessor), contumacious  John  of  Leyden  was  exposed  to  the  public 
gaze,  ignominiously  tied  to  a  stake,  with  a  horse  bridle  in  his 
mouth,  a  bundle  of  rods  under  his  arm  and  a  label  on  his  breast, 
stating  that  he  was  a  writer  of  lampoons,  etc.4  Here,  too,  a  thief, 
was  once  punished  by  being  made  to  stand  under  a  gallows,  with 
a  rope  around  his  neck  and  an  empty  sword  scabbard  in  his  hand,5 
and  here,  also,  saddest  sight  of  all,  a  venerable  clergyman  of  the 
town,  who  had  incautiously  married  a  couple  without  observing 
the  formalities  demanded  by  the  law,  was  condemned  to  flogging 
and  banishment;  a  sentence,  however,  which,  in  consideration  of 
his  gray  hairs,  was  commuted  to  that  of  exile  from  the  town.6 

1  Van  Cott  avenue  occupies  a  portion  of  its  route.  This  old  Wood  point  road  was 
the  route  by  which  the  Bush  wick  farmers  got  to  their  boats,  and  thence  to  market 
at  New  York.  The  Wood  Point,  or  Hout  Poynt,  itself  was  on  Bush  wick  creek  and 
is  covered  by  the  present  Fifth  street. 

2  Kickout  lane  entered  Bushwick  avenue  between  North  Second  and  Conselyea 
streets. 

3  Long  Island  Miscellanies,  by  Garret  Furman,  182. 
Mratep.338. 

6  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manual,  for  1868,  p.  457. 
6  Ibid. 


MAP  E. 


Het  Dorp,  or  Bushwick  Green. 


1.  Bushwick  Church. 

2.  Town  House. 

3.  School  House. 

4.  ) 

,,    j-  De  Voe  Houses.    (See  page  374). 

6.  Conselyea  House.    (See  pp.  373,  374). 

7.  Old  Bushwick  graveyard  (see  page  374),  shown  by  dotted  line. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  373 

"  Long  after  the  Revolution,  the  old  town  house  continued  to 
be  the  high  seat  of  justice,  and  to  resound  with  the  republican 
roar  of  vociferous  electors  011  town  meeting  days.1  The  first 
Tuesday  in  April,  and  the  fourth  of  July,  in  each  succeeding  year, 
found  het  dorp  (now  Anglicized  to  Bushwick  Church),  suddenly 
metamorphosed  from  a  sleepy  little  Dutch  hamlet  into  a  brawling, 
Bwaggering  country  town,  with  very  debauched  habits.  Our 
Dutch  youth  had  a  most  enthusiastic  tendency  and  ready  facility 
in  adopting  the  convivial  customs  and  uproarious  festivity  of  the 
loud-voiced  and  arrogant  Anglo-American  youngsters.  One  day 
the  close-fisted  electors  of  Bushwick  devised  a  plan  for  easing  the 
public  burden,  by  making  the  Town  house  pay  part  of  the  annual 
taxes ;  and,  accordingly,  it  was  rented  to  a  Dutch  publican,  who 
afforded  shelter  to  the  justices  and  constables,  and  by  his  potent 
liquors  contributed  to  furnish  them  with  employment.  In  this 
mild  partnership,  so  quietly  aiding  to  fill  each  other's  pockets,  our 
old  friend  Chris.  Zimmerman  had  a  share  until  he  was  ousted, 
because  he  was  a  better  customer  than  landlord.  At  last  the 
electors  of  Bushwick  grew  tired  of  keeping  a  hotel,  and  sold  the 
venerable  structure  to  an  infidel  Yankee,  at  whose  bar  the  good 
domine  could  no  longer  feel  free  to  take  an  inspiriting  cup  before 
entering  the  pulpit,  and  the  glory  of  the  Town  house  of  Bushwick 
departed." 2 

The  school-house  which  stood  near  (Map  e,  Fig.  3),  was  occupied  by 
a  district  school  until  within  a  few  years  past — latterly  under  the 
charge  of  the  present  Board  of  Education.  Between  this  body  and 
the  trustees  of  the  Dutch  church  there  arose  a  curious  controversy, 
involving  the  ownership  of  the  building,  and  in  which  the  tenure 
of  occupation  and  title  of  the  old  Dutch  town  property  was  fully 
discussed. 

Hidden  by  the  church,  and  situated  on  the  block  now  bounded 
by  Jackson,  Smith,  Skillman  streets  and  Graham  avenue,  is  the 
Conselyea  house,  a  well  preserved  specimen  of  Dutch  architecture; 
erected  as,  tradition  relates,  at  or  near  the  date  of  the  first  settle- 


2On  the  site  of  the  two-story  house,  just  above,  was  the  old  liberty  pole  flag-staff, 
2T.  W.  Field,  in  Corporation  Manual,  457. 


374  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

merit  of  the  town.  In  1848,  Andrew  Conselyea,  its  then  proprietor, 
related  that  his  grandfather,  who  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two, 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  his  father,  who  died  long  before  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  could  not  remember  any  other 
alteration  in  it  than  the  putting  on  of  a  new  roof.  This  would 
make  its  erection  prior  to  1700."  * 

In  sight  of  the  church,  and  covering  the  present  junction  of 
Parker  street  and  Kingsland  avenue,  was  the  ancient  graveyard 
of  the  original  Dutch  settlement.  It  is  now  unused  and  most  of 
the  remains  having  been  removed  to  the  new  burying  ground 
adjoining  the  church,  the  few  remaining  monuments  are  neglected, 
broken  and  almost  undecipherable.2 

A  fence  has,  within  a  year  or  two  past,  been  placed  around  it, 
but  does  not  relieve  the  desolate  appearance  of  this  old  "  God's 


1  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manual  for  1868,453. 

5  All  the  inscriptions  visible  in  the  spring  of  1861,  were,  at  that  time  copied  by 
the  author,  and  are  as  follows : 

Andries  Stockholm,  geboren  Den  29,  [   ]  y     Andrew  Van  Horn,  d.  Feb.  24,  1828,  89. 
1696,  en  overleden  [  ]  en  28         78  yr,  his  wife  Baffir,  d.  April  8,  1837, 

February,  1773,  Zynde  76  Jaren  en  7         se.  91. 
Msende." 

Francis  Titus,  d.  April  13,  1802,  se.  74  yr. 
"  Hier  Legt  begraaven  het  Lichaam  van 
Isaac  Lott,  overleeden  den  10th  Feb.     Francis    Williams,  fourth  son  of  Capt. 
1771,  onde  Zynde  66  Jaaren."  John  Williams  and  Marv  Titus,  d.  Dec. 

14,  1797,  se.  1  yr.  9  mo.  20  d. 
Capt.  Lawrence  Coe,  d.  Aug.  24,  1780,  as. 
50  yrs.  Francis  Titus,  d.  May  31,  1799,  39.  24  yr. 

11  mo.  10  d. 
Abraham  Bogert,  d.    March  11,   1792, 

89.69.  "1749,D.j5." 

Maria,  wife  of  Charles  Bourem,  d.  March     "  M.  D.  B." 

2,  1807,  ae.  69  yr.  11  mo.  17  d. 

"1758,  H.B.B." 
Sarah  ^4?m(Devoe)  wife  of  John  Skillman, 

d.  Feb.  8,  1845,  89.  26  yr.  8  mo.  17  d.         David  Miller,  d.  .July  22, 1817,  se.  61  yr. 

Isaac  Debevoise,  b.  July  10,  1757,  d.Nov.  16,  1831,89.  74  yrs.  4mo.  6d.,  an 
acting  elder  in  the  Ref.  Dutch  church  of  Bush  wick. 

In  the  new  graveyard  adjoining  Bush  wick  church  are  a  large  number  of  monuments, 
among  which  the  most  numerous  are  of  the  following  families ;  Covert,  Bogert, 
Skillman,  Titus,  Lott,  Miller,  Schenck,  Meserole,  Duryea,  Debevoise  and  Van  Cott. 
Haumpie  Van  Cott  (daughter  of  Francis  Titus,  and  first  wife  of  David  Van  Cott)  who 
died  Dec.  15, 1814,  89. 52  yr.  9  mo.  2  d.  was  the  first  individual  buried  in  this  yard. 


OLD   BU8BWIGK    GKAYEYARD. 


■ 


THE    DS    VOE    HOUSES,    AS    SEEN    PRQH    TEE    OLD    GRAYEYAKD. 


376  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Standing  at  the  old  burying  ground  and  looking  along  the  old 
Woodpoint  road,  we  see  the  two  venerable  De  Yoe  houses  (Map 
e,  4  and  5),  standing  (on  either  side  the  old  road,  but)  be- 
tween Parker  and  Bennet  streets,  near  De  Bevoise  avenue. 
They  are  well  depicted  in  the  accompanying  sketch  taken  by  our 
artist  in  the  fall  of  1867. 

On  De  Bevoise  avenue  still  remains  the  old  De  Bevoise  house, 
latterly  known  as  the  residence  of  Charles  I.  De  Bevoise.  On 
Bushwick  avenue,  near  the  north-east  corner  of  that  avenue  and 
North  Second  street,  was  the  old  Beadel  house,  now  used  as  a 
grocery  store ;  and  several  other  old  houses  are  still  remaining 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  church.  North-west  of 
the  church  and  close  to  Bushwick  creek  was  the  residence  of 
Abram  Yan  Ranst,  a  lieutenant  of  the  Kings  County  Militia  who 
fled,  with  his  family,  to  Harlem,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Brook- 
lyn. His  house  became  the  headquarters  of  Mr.  Pherson's  corps  of 
refugees  and  tories,  as  mentioned  on  page  364. 

Jiet  Kivis  Padt,  or  the  Cross  roads,  on  Bushwick  avenue  be- 
tween Johnson  and  Adams  streets  still  retains  several  of  the  old 
houses  which  clustered  there  in  the  olden  time. 

The  inhabitants  residing  along  the  water  side,  (Het  Strand  of 
the  olden  day)  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  were  Martin  Kershow, 
David  Miller,  Charles  Titus,  Andrew  Conselyea,  Thomas  Skill- 
man,  Francis  Titus,  William  Bennett  and  John  Titus.  Subse- 
quently, but  prior  to  1798,  were  erected  the  houses  of  Peter 
Miller  and  Frederic  Devoe.  In  1798,  also,  William  Van  Cotts 
resided  at  the  Sweede's  Fly.  One  by  one,  however,  these  old 
farm  houses  have  disappeared  before  long  rows  of  modern  brick 
dwellings,  two  only  having  been  spared  to  our  day,  as  samples 
of  the  ancient  style  of  architecture,  viz :  the  Boerum  house,  on 
Flushing  avenue  between  Broadway  and  Kent  streets  (see 
opposite  page),  and  the  Remsen  house  on  Clymer  street  near  Kent 


depicted  in  Valentine's  New  Tor  k  Corporation  Manual  for  1858,  and  Brooklyn 
Corporation  Manual  for  1863. 


THE      BOERUM      HOUSE 
(Kent  Avenue,    between  Broadway  and   Rush  Streets,    E    I)  ) 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  877 

Busliwick,  also,  had  two  tide  mills,  Luquecr's  and  8cJu  ncky8. 
Luqucer's,  more  lately  known  as  Master's,  was  erected  in  the  year 
1664,  by  Abraham  Jansen  who  received  a  grant  of  the  mill  site 
and  privileges  (page  338),  and  was,  therefore,  with  the  except  ion 
of  Brower's  mill  on  Gowanus  creek,  the  first  one  established  in 
the  present  city  of  Brooklyn.  It  stood  on  a  branch  of  Maspeth 
(Newtown)  creek,  near  the  junction  of  Grand  street  and  Metropo- 
litan avenue.  "  A  few  years  since,"  says  Mr.  T.  W.  Field,  "  there 
was  no  more  striking  scene  near  the  metropolis  than  the  view  at 
this  point.  As  the  road  to  Jamaica  struck  the  marsh,  a  rude 
bridge,  with  the  most  fragile  railing  which  ever  deluded  a  tired 
passenger  to  lean  against  it,  crossed  a  narrow  strait  in  the  millpond. 
A  few  rods  to  the  left  stood  an  unpainted  hovel  dignified  with  the 
name  of  the  Mill,  against  the  side  of  which,  and  dwarfing  it  by 
comparison,  hung  suspended  the  gigantic  wheel.  Close  to  the 
bridge  stood  another  tenement  whose  meaner  appearance  made 
the  mill-house  respectable.  This  was  the  toll-house,  one  of  a  class 
of  structures  which  are  only  less  universally  detested  than  the 
quarantine  and  the  pest-house.  Across  the  broad  level  marsh, 
nearly  a  mile  in  width,  rose  the  hills  of  Xewtown,  covered  with 
their  tall  forests,  amid  which  here  and  there  open  spaces  of  culti- 
vated lands  checkered  the  green  expanse  with  squares  of  brown 
earth  or  varied  colored  crops.  Through  the  green  salt  meadow 
the  slumbrous  tide-water  currents  wound  their  unseen  courses ; 
and,  in  the  midst  of  the  verdure  rose  the  broad  sails  of  vessels, 
which  appeared  as  incongruous  with  the  green  meadow  as  would 
a  western  prairie  over  which  tall  ships  were  sailing.  A  mile  or 
more  to  the  right,  on  another  branch  of  Maspeth  kill,'  stood 
another  structure,  known  as  Schcnck's  mill,  the  site  of  which  is 
only  known  by  tradition,  so  completely  have  its  ruins  been  con- 
cealed by  alluvial  deposits  swept  by  the  rains  from  the  cultivated 
fields  around."  l  Near  at  hand  is  still  the  little  burying  ground 
where  sleep  all  of  that  name  who  heard  the  clatter  of  the  mill  and 
the  splash  of  the  sluggishly  turning  wheel.2    Luqueer's  or  Master's 

1  Brooklyn  Corporation  Manual  for  1808,  477,  478. 

2  The  ancient  private  burial  place  of  the  Sciiexck  family,  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Field, 
is  still  in  existence  in  the  rear  of  two  barns  on  the  farm  of  Nicholas  Wyckoff,  in 

48 


378  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

mill  was  the  last,  within  the  town  of  Bushwick,  to  give  way  to  the 
march  of  improvement. 

The  physician  of  old  Bushwick  was  Dr.  Cornelius  Lowe,  who 
enjoyed  the  practice  of  Bushwick,  New  Lotts  and  a  part  of  New- 
town. He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  unmarried,  boarded  with 
Alexander  Whalley  and  died  about  1830.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  George  Cox,  who  boarded  in  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bassett's  family, 
removed  to  Williamsburgh  after  it  became  a  village,  and  became 
connected  by  marriage  with  the  Miller  family. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  farmers  of  Bushwick 
pursued  in  peace  their  occupations  of  sowing  and  raising  grain, 
and  cultivating  garden  vegetables  for  the  JSTew  York  markets. 
From  the  monotonous  pursuit  of  this  profitable  business,  they 
were  at  length  aroused  by  the  magic  touch  of  modern  improve- 
ment.     Suddenly,  upon  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  river,  which 

Bushwick.  From  its  monuments  we  copied,  in  1860,  the  following  inscriptions,  some  of 
which  are  partially  obliterated  by  time  and  weather  : 

Johannes    Schenck,   ye    First    of  the     (Double  grave)M aria  Schenck,  Daughter 
Family   Depd  this  Life,  Febry  ye  5th,  of  Abmn  Schenck  Depd  this  Life  May 

1748,  Agd  92.  19,    1776,    Agd  19rs  4  Moths.  Makia 

Magdalena,  Grand  child  to  Abraham 
Corn.  Schenck,  1740.  Schenck,  Daughter  of  Elizath  Wife  of 

John  McPhern,  Depd  this  Life  Febry 
(Ztow&^#ra^)NEELLiESchenk,Depdthis         ye  9th  1782,  Aged  1  yr  6  moths. 
Life  Marh  ye  29th  1763,  Agd    17  yrs. 

10  Moths.MARiA  Magdalena  Schenck      TeuniS)  d.  July  3i  i800,  *.  83  yrs.  2  mo. 
Depd  tins  Life  Maye  .  17th  1779,  aged         o  d     i  his    *$f 
17th  yr   2   Moths  Boath  Daughters  of         b  d&}S>  ^  Wlte 
Abraham  Schenck. 

Catherine,  d.  April  9,  1793.  ae.  65  yrs. 

Elsie    Schenck    [wife  ?  ]    of  Abraham  2  mo-  ^  da7s-     They  tad  ™  children. 
Schenck,  Depd  this  Life   Oct.  ye  2d  17 

]  Aged  64.  had  children  and  grand-  Peter    T.    (son    of   above,    m.    Sarah 

children.  Schenck),  d.  Dec.  31,  1808,  ae.  36. 

Elsie  Schenck    daughter  of  Abraham     Elizabeth  O'Neale,  dau.  of  Cath.  & 
Schenck  Depd  this  Life  Nov.  30th  1782.         Teunis 
Aged  25  yrs.  2  Moths  ;  and  Abraham 

Schenck,  Aged  16  Days,  one  Grave.  ^  , ,         „  m       .    .   _,  ,,  N 

J  Elizabeth  (dau.  of  Teunis  &  Cath.)  m. 

MARiASchenck,  wife  of  Johannis  Schenck         John  O'Neale,  who  d.  May  28,  1816,  ae. 

ye  second,  Depd  this  Life  May  ye   6th         °^* 

1740,  Agd  50. 

Catharine,  wife  of  Timothy   Dandy, 
Maria   Magdalena    Schenck,  ye    1st,         daughter  of  Isaac  Schenck,  died  May 

depd  thisLife  April  ye  10th  1729,  Agd  70.         30,  1828,  in  33d  yr. 

Catharine  Schenck,  d.  July  6,   1858,  se.  18yr.  6  mo.  16d.  )    Children  of 
Peter  P.  Schenck,  d.  Oct.  6,  1832,  ae.  39  y.  7  mo.  8d.  J  Peter  &  Sarah. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  379 

formed  their  western  border,  appeared  the  nucleus  of  a  village ;  arid, 
even  while  they  rubbed  their  astonished  eyes,  it  expanded  to  the 
fair  proportions  of  a  city.  The  surveyor's  chain  ran  ruthlessly 
through  their  cabbage  gardens,  with  a  reckless  indifference  to 
time-honored  farm  lines;  and  they  found  that  the  ancient  home- 
steads, which  had  sheltered  their  infancy,  and  their  maturer  years, 
were  standing  directly  in  the  route  of  newly  plotted  streets  and 
avenues,  with  which  the  crafty  speculator  had  surrounded  them, 
as  with  a  spider's  web.  Probably,  nothing  had  been  farther  from 
the  conceptions  and  imaginations  of  these  denizens  of  Bushwick, 
than  the  idea  of  converting  these  old  farms  into  a  city.  They  un- 
doubtedly fully  appreciated  the  peculiar  advantages  of  their 
proximity  to  New  York,  in  the  enhanced  prices  of  milk,  cabbage, 
and  all  varieties  of  garden  products ;  and,  perhaps,  some  of  them 
anticipated  fortunes  for  their  children,  to  be  accumulated  by  row 
boat  voyages,  by  starlight,  to  the  Fulton  market.  But,  that  their 
half  educated  boys,  without  capacity  to  be  aught  else  than  garden 
hucksters,  should  have  fortunes  fairly  thrust  upon  them  by  the 
enhanced  value  of  their  farms,  due  to  the  enterprise  of  others, 
whom  they  called  intruders,  had  certainly  never  entered  into  their 
Dutch  noddles.  Work,  was  with  them,  the  element  of  power; 
that  fortunes  could  be  acquired  by  any  other  method  than  that  of 
plodding  labor,  such  as  they  themselves  had  undergone,  was  incom- 
prehensible to  them,  and  regarded  by  them  as  little  else  than  a 
species  of  diabolerie. 

And  the  foreign  element,  which  was  seeking  to  plant  its  foot 
npon  the  beautiful  shores  of  Bushwick,  was  so  well  convinced  of 
the  popular  feeling  upon  the  subject,  among  these  old  farmers, 
that  they  felt  obliged  to  resort  to  finesse  and  management  in  order 
to  secure  a  foothold  for  the  projected  village. 

Richard  M.  Woodhull,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  who  was  the 
pioneer  of  this  enterprise,  dared  not  purchase  in  his  own  name 
the  much  coveted  land,  upon  which  he  proposed  to  locate  his  im- 
provements. He,  therefore,  about  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century,  employed  one  Samuel  Titus  of  Newtown,  to 
purchase  from  Charles  Titus  some  fifteen  acres  of  his  farm,  which 
he  afterwards  repurchased  from  the  said  Samuel  Titus,  at  cost. 


380  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

This  land,  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  North  Second  street,  then 
called  Bushwick  street,  was  soon  laid  out  by  Mr.  Woodhull,  in 
city  lots,  and  named  Williajnsburgh,  in  compliment  to  a  friend  of 
his,  Col.  Williams,  TJ.  S.  Engineer,  by  whom  it  had  been  surveyed. 
He  then  established  a  ferry  from  his  property  (foot  of  North 
Second  street),  to  Corlies  hook,  now  better  known  as  Grand 
street,  New  York.  He  also  set  up  a  hay  press,  and  made  other 
improvements,  but  his  enterprise  and  indefatigable  exertions  failed 
of  success;  only  a  few  lots  were  purchased  by  others,  and  ere 
long  a  rival  speculator  began  to  compete  with  him  in  the  field, 
which  he  had  fondly  hoped  was  his  own. 

This  rival  was  Thomas  Morrell,1  who  had  purchased  from 
Folkert  Titus,  the  homestead  farm  of  the  ancient  Titus  estate,2 
and  who,  with  James  Hazard,  to  whom  he  sold  a  moiety,  had 
laid  it  out  in  city  lots,  and  had  a  perfect  map  made  of  the  same, 
whereon  Grand  street  was  laid  down  as  a  dividing  line.  Morrell 
then  (in  1812),  obtained  a  grant  from  the  corporation  of  New 
York,  for  a  ferry  from  Grand  street  on  the  Bushwick  shore,  to 
Grand  street,  at  Corlies  hook  on  the  other  side,  the  same  place 
to  which  WoodhulFs  ferry  ran.3  Yorkton  was  the  somewhat 
pompous  name  given  to  the  territory  along  the  river  between 
North  Second  street,  and  the  Wallabout ;  and  Loss's  Map  of  York- 
ton  was  dignified  to  the  position  of  a  public  record.  The  Grand 
street  ferry  gradually  obtained  the  public  preference,  and  super- 
seded Woodhull's,  so  that  both  owners  became  rivals,  and  disputes 
ran  so  high  between  them  that  they  would  not  permit  each  other's 
teams  to  pass  over  their  respective  lands.     These  differences,  of 

1  Thomas  Morrell  from  Newtown,  was  the  father  of  the  late  John,  and  the  late 
Thomas  T.  Morrell,  of  Williamsburgh. 

2  The  estate  comprised  some  twenty-eight  acres,  on  each  side  of  the  present  Grand 
street.  The  old  Colonel  Francis  Titus's  homestead,  long  known  as  the  Fountain  Inn, 
stood  on  the  north-easterly  side  of  South  First  street.  In  the  earlier  period  of  the 
village  (as  in  modern  days),  rum  and  politics  clustered  together  at  the  Fountain 
Inn,  and  the  destiny  of  the  town  and  county  was  often  there  discussed,  on  winter's 
nights,  over  hot  flip  and  brandy  slings. 

3  Before  its  sale  to  Morrell,  this  was  called  Chas.  Titus's  point  and  the  Grand 
street  ferry  was  established  at  a  small  cove  about  three  chains  and  three  links  west 
of  the  point,  a  good  place  for  it,  as  the  point  turned  the  floating  ice,  or  the  flood  tide 
from  the  dock  and  ferry  stairs.   . 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  381 

course,  injured  both  parties,  and  tended  greatly  to  retard  the  pro- 
gress of  the  village.  But,  while  Morrell  had  succeeded  in  mono- 
polizing the  ferry,  Woodhull  managed  to  preserve  the  name 
The  appellation  of  Williamsburgh,  applied  at  first  to  the  fifteen 
acres  originally  purchased  at  the  foot  of  Xorth  Second  street, 
had  extended  itself  to  adjoining  lands,  so  as  to  embrace  about 
thirty  acres,  as  seen  by  F.  F.  Poppleton's  Map,  in  1814,  and 
another,  in  1815,  of  property  of  Jas.  Homer  Maxwell.  But  the 
first  ferry  had  landed  at  Williamsburgh,  and  the  turnpike  went 
through  Williamsburgh  out  into  the  island.  Hence  the  country 
people,  when  coming  to  the  ferry,  talked  of  coming  to  Williams- 
burgh, so  did  the  people  coming  from  the  city  ;  and  thus  Yorkton 
was  soon  unknown  save  on  Loss's  map,  and  in  the  pockets  of 
certain  rival  land  jobbers.  In  similar  manner,  the  designations 
of  old  farm  locations,  being  obsolete  to  the  idea  of  a  city  or 
village,  grew  into  disuse  ;  and  the  whole  territory,  lying  between 
the  Wallabout  bay  and  Bushwick  creek,  became  known  as 
Williamsburgh.  Previously  to  this,  the  region  along  the  shore  of 
the  East  river,  was  called  the  Strand.  But,  though  the  world  did 
justice  to  the  pioneer  enterprise  by  retaining  its  name,  fortune 
jilted  its  founder.  The  ferry  and  the  town  passed  from  Woodhull's 
hands,  under  a  sheriff's  execution,  and  the  same  fate  overtook 
James  Homer  Maxwell,  his  successor,  in  the  proprietorship  of  the 
village.  Henceforth,  Grand  street  became  the  permanent  site  of 
the  ferry,  and  the  Fountain  Inn  became  the  headquarters  of  the 
political  influences  of  the  town. 

At  the  time  the  ferries  were  established,  there  was  no  road  to 
the  water  side,  except  the  road  of  the  Newtown  and  Bushwick 
Bridge  Company,  which  came  to  the  shore  at  Woodhull's  ferry. 
There  was  no  shore  road  connecting  the  two  ferries,  nor  any 
from  the  Wallabout  to  Williamsburgh.  The  owners  of  the  land 
fronting  on  the  river,  blind  to  their  own  interests,  refused  to  have 
any  road  opened  over  their  property  along  the  shore.  Conse- 
quently the  ferries  could  not  prosper,  their  costs  exceeded  their 
income,  and  both  owners  died  in  embarrassed  circumstances, 
and  with  blighted  hopes.  Subsequently,  the  ferries  were  con- 
solidated. 


382  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

While  Messrs.  Woodhull  and  Morrell  were  at  variance,  con- 
cerning ferries  and  town  names,  Gen.  Jeremiah  Johnson  purchased 
the  farm  of  Charles  Titus,  2d,  and  to  his  efforts  we  owe  the  laying 
out  of  the  first  road  along  the  river.  Having  business  almost 
every  day  with  his  teams  on  the  farm,  which  compelled  him  to 
pass  (on  sufferance),  over  the  lands  of  his  neighbors,  to  Williams- 
burgh,  he  was  much  annoyed  in  passing  to  and  fro,  by  being 
obliged  to  open  and  shut  seventeen  barred  gates,  within  the  distance 
of  half  a  mile  along  the  shore,  where  a  public  road  ought  to  have 
been  from  the  settlement  of  the  country.  He  applied  to  the 
owners  of  the  land  to  unite  with  him  in  a  petition  to  the  legisla- 
ture, for  the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  them  to  lay  out  a  two- 
rod  road  along  the  front  of  their  property,  from  the  Wallabout 
bridge  to  the  Newtown  and  Bushwick  bridge  road  at  Woodhull's 
ferry.  Every  one  of  them  refused ;  persuasion  was  unavailing, 
and  bars  were  even  increased.  With  the  quiet  determination, 
which  was  so  marked  a  feature  of  his  character,  he  resolved  that 
it  should  be  done.  He  then,  himself,  made  a  survey  of  the  line 
of  the  proposed  road,  gave  due  notice  that  application  would  be 
made  to  the  legislature  for  a  road  from  the  Wallabout  bridge  to 
the  house  of  John  Yan  Ranst,  at  Woodhull's  ferry,  got  up  a 
petition,  signed  by  a  few  persons,  went  to  Albany,  and  in  a  few 
days  returned  home  with  a  certified  copy  of  the  desired  law. 
Within  a  month,  the  road  was  opened  by  the  commissioners  of 
Brooklyn  and  Bushwick,1  and  contributed  more,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  similar  improvement,  to  the  ultimate  growth  and  pro- 
sperity of  both  towns.  Its  effects  were  magical.  Previously,  there 
had  been  no  communication  with  Brooklyn  by  vehicles,  except  by 
the  Newtown  road  from  the  Bushwick  Cross  roads.     Scarcely, 

1  Mr.  T.  W.  Field,  in  an  article  on  the  localities  and  names  of  Brooklyn,  in  the 
Corporation  Manual  for  1868  (page  467),  says  of  this  road  as  follows :  "  Water 
street. — The  lane  leading  from  the  north  end  of  the  Wallabout  bridge  road  to  the 
junction  of  Kyckout.  Until  1826,  no  public  road  from  Williamsburgh,  except 
Cripplebush  lane,  communicated  with  Brooklyn.  The  person  who  wished  to  drive 
from  Flushing  avenue  to  South  Seventh  street  ferry  passed  through  a  lane  across, 
which  seventeen  gates  and  bars  obstructed  his  way.  Each  of  these  he  must  open 
and  close,  or  if  he  neglected  the  latter  attention,  it  was  at  his  peril.  A  stout  Dutch 
farmer,  in  a  high  state  of  irritation,  armed  with  a  formidable  black  snake  whip,  was 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOEL1  X.  383 

however,  was  this  new  thoroughfare  opened,  before  the  buefriesfl 
at  the  ferry  largely  increased,  and  public  attention  was  attracted 
to  the  beautiful  situation,  and  many  advantages  afforded  by 
Williamsburgh. 

It  is  even  now,  a  legitimate  matter  of  surprise,  that  public 
attention  had  not  sooner  been  attracted  to  this  place,  "  possessing 
as  it  does,"  according  to  the  papers  of  that  day  "  so  many  and 
such  superior  advantages  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  every 
species  of  manufacture  and  commerce,  or  for  the  erection  of  the 
most  pleasant  and  convenient  private  residences  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  JSTew  York.  Situated  opposite  the  very  heart  of  the  city, 
it  has  a  bold  water  front  upon  the  East  river,  of  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  extent,  with  a  sufficient  depth  for  all  ordinary  commercial  pur- 
poses. It  has,  besides,  this  advantage  over  Brooklyn,  that  its  entire 
shore  is  under  the  control  of  its  own  local  authorities." 

"  From  its  proximity  to  the  city,"  says  Prime,  "  it  might  be 
supposed  to  have  been  the  seat  of  the  principal  settlement  in  the 
first  occupation  of  this  region.  But  it  was  far  otherwise.  The 
first  town  plot  was  evidently  not  far  from  the  present  site  of  the 
village  in  Bushwick ;  and  until  seventeen  years  ago  [1827],  the 
whole  territory  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  this  town  was 
occupied  in  separate  farms,  the  whole  number  of  which  was 
twenty-three  ;  of  which  ten  butted  on  the  river.  Besides  the  farm 
houses  belonging  to  these  several  tracts,  there  were  scarcely  any 
tenements,  excepting  a  few  small  ones  on  the  roads  connected 
with  ^Torth  Second  street  ferry. 

The  site  of  the  city  rises  gradually  to  the  height  of  about  forty- 
five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  adjacent  waters.  And  though  it 
afterwards  suffers  a  depression  about  a  mile  from  the  river,  the 
surrounding  lands  will  furnish   sufficient  material  to  raise  the 

an  antagonist  that  would  be  neither  cajoled  nor  bullied.  No  alternative  would  be 
accepted  by  the  irate  proprietor,  but  to  descend  from  the  vehicle,  return  to  the  bars, 
and  put  them  all  in  place.  I  have  often  heard  the  late  Charles  De  Bevoise  relate 
the  details  of  the  difficulties  and  abuses  he  encountered,  as  one  of  the  commissioners 
to  open  the  first  highway  across  these  sixteen  farms,  from  Wallabout  bridge  to 
Bushwick  creek.  The  old  man  spoke  sadly  and  regretfully  of  the  service,  as 
productive  of  neighborhood  bitterness,  that  almost  a  third  of  a  century  had  not 
allayed." 


384  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

whole  to  a  desirable  elevation.  The  east  part  of  the  city,  or  upper 
village,  as  it  formerly  was  called,  a  little  more  than  a  mile  from 
the  ferries,  is  a  peculiarly  pleasant  and  desirable  residence.  On 
the  whole,  nature  seems  to  have  formed  this  entire  territory  as  the  site  of 
a  beautiful  city." x 

The  progress  of  the  village  was  rapid  and  encouraging,  although 
it  is  now  difficult  to  glean  from  the  "  dim  and  misty  past/'  as 
many  details  of  that  progress  as  we  could  wish.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  was  first  organized  here  in  1807,  and  its  edifice, 
erected  during  the  following  year,  was  the  first  place  of  public 
worship  opened  in  the  village.  In  1814,  the  town  numbered  a 
population  of  759  persons.  About  the  year  1819,  a  distillery  was 
established  at  the  foot  of  South  Second  street,  by  the  enterprise 
of  Mr.  Noah  Waterbury;2  subsequently,  in  1820,  David  Dunham, 
of  Bushwick,  donated  a  lot  of  ground,  100  by  30  feet,  near  North 
First  street,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  upon  it  a  district  school  house. 
This,  when  built,  was  known  as  District  School  No.  3,  in  the  town 
of  Bushwick.  The  population  of  the  town  including  the  village, 
at  this  time,  was  934,  showing  a  gain  of  175  persons,  since  the 
year  1814 ;  of  this  365  were  white  males,  387  white  females,  and 
182  were  colored.     In  July  of  this  year,  we  find  the  following 

1  Prime's  History  of  Long  Island,  348,  with  some  slight  alterations,  demanded  by 
the  progress  of  the  village. 

2  Mr.  Noah  Waterbuby,  whose  enterprise  has  earned  for  him  the  appellation  of 
the  "  Father  of  Williamsburgh,"  was  born  at  Groton  Falls,  Conn.,  and  was  the  son 
of  Phineas  and  Elibabeth  (Lounsbery)  Waterbury.  In  1789,  being  then  fifteen  years 
old,  he  came  to  Brooklyn,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  apprenticeship,  being  then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he,  in  connection  with 
Henry  Stanton,  took  the  Catharine  street  ferry,  previously  run  by  Hunt  &  Furman, 
and  after  carrying  it  on  for  a  time,  entered  into  the  lumber  trade,  and  subsequently 
established  a  rope- walk  ;  In  both  of  which  ventures  Stanton  was  his  partner.  In 
May,  1819,  he  removed  to  Williamsburgh,  where  he  purchased  from  Gen.  Jeremiah 
Johnson,  about  one-half  an  acre  of  land  at  the  foot  of  South  Second  street,  on  which 
he  erected  (with  Jordan  Coles)  a  distillery.  He  afterwards  added  eight  acres  of  land 
adjoining,  by  purchase  from  Johnson,  and  laid  it  out  in  city  lots.  Gradually  he  got 
into  the  real  estate  business,  frequently  loaned  money  to  the  village  at  times  of  its 
greatest  financial  distress ;  originated  the  City  Bank,  of  which  he  became  the  first 
president ;  was  the  first  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  1827,  and  in  many  ways 
promoted  the  welfare  of  the  village.  His  life  was  one  of  great  enterprise,  characterized 
by  public  spirit  and  a  high  degree  of  integrity. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  385 

advertisement  in  the  Long  Island  Star  :  "  A  hear  will  he  shot,  on 
Thursday  next,  the  20th  inst,  at  5  o'clock,  p.  M.  at  the  Fountain 
inn,  Bushwick.  The  rifle  companies  of  Major  Vinton,  and  Capt. 
Burns  are  particularly  intended  to  attend  with  their  music.  Green 
turtle  soup  will  be  ready  on  the  same  day,  from  11  o'clock,  a.  m. 
till  10  o'clock,  p.  m."  And  in  October  following,  as  we  learn,  three 
persons  were  formally  indicted  at  the  Kings  county  general 
sessions  for  bull-baiting  at  Williamsburgh  !  This  certainly  speaks 
well  for  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  community. 

In  April,  1823,  the  infant  village  sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the 
death  of  Mr.  David  Dunham,  a  merchant  and  citizen  of  New 
York,  who  was  drowned  on  a  voyage  down  the  river  from  Albany. 
He  was  justly  considered  as  a  friend  and  founder  of  Williamsburgh. 
The  papers  of  the  day  say  of  him  that  "  his  efforts  in  several  de- 
partments, where  the  public  interest  is  concerned,  were  vigilant 
and  unceasing,  and  their  success  will  be  remembered  and  asso- 
ciated with  his  name.  The  Williamsburgh  ferry  and  turnpike, 
maintained  by  him,  are  real  and  lasting  benefits,  to  the  city  and 
to  Long  Island."  He  was  untiring  in  promoting  steam  navigation, 
and  made  the  bold  and  before  untried  and  therefore  hazardous 
experiment  of  sending  a  steamship  to  the  southern  states,  to 
Havana  and  to  New  Orleans,  and  his  success  established  steam 
communication  between  New  York  and  other  places.  "  He  had 
materially  changed  the  appearance  of  Williamsburgh,  and  was 
adding  constantly  to  its  improvements.  He  could  turn  his 
attention  to  many  subjects;  had  a  number  of  useful  experiments 
in  the  train  of  successful  operations ;  was  never  disheartened  by 
disappointment,  nor  diverted  from  his  object  by  indolence  or 
opposition." — New  York  Statesman;  Long  Island  Star,  April  17, 
1823. 

"  In  the  year  1825,"  says  Garret  Fur  man,  Esq.,1  "  the  Messrs. 
Garret  &  Grover  C.  Furman,  both  merchants  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  purchased  twenty-five  acres  of  land  in  Williamsburgh, 
beginning  on  South  First  street,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
from  what  is  now  Grand  street,  near  the  corner  of  Second  street, 


1  Long  Island  Miscellanies,  by  Rusticus,  Gent.,  page  182. 
49 


386  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

then  to  South  Third  street,  the  width  continuing  to  Sixth  street, 
from  Gen.  Johnson,  at  $300  per  acre.  At  this  time  there  was  no 
building  on  it,  but  it  was  all  enclosed  by  a  good  stone  wall, 
divided  into  small  fields  for  cultivation  and  pasturage ;  and,  in 
one  field,  the  writer  remembers  there  was  a  fine  patch  of  potatoes. 
This,  at  that  time,  was  by  many  timid  and  prudent  people  con- 
sidered a  wild  and  almost  crazy  speculation.  But  it  was  bought 
under  a  conviction  that  the  place  must  become  the  same  to  the 
upper  parts  of  New  York  that  South  Brooklyn  (as  it  had  then 
begun  to  be  called)  was  then  to  the  lower,  which  was  greatly 
advanced  in  value  in  consequence  of  the  same.  But,  at  that  time, 
they  hesitated  how  to  commence ;  whether  to  continue  it  awhile 
for  farming  purposes,  or  otherwise.  However,  they  soon  decided 
and  had  it  surveyed  and  run  into  city  lots.  The  next  move  was 
to  offer  the  Dutch  Reformed  congregation  one  hundred  feet  square, 
in  any  part  of  the  whole  tract  they  liked  best ;  this  they  accepted 
with  thankfulness  and  set  about  erecting  the  church  where  it  now 
stands,  and  lots  for  private  residences  began  to  be  inquired  after; 
and  now  a  new  difficulty  arose,  what  shall  they  charge  for  a  lot  ? 
However  this  was  soon  decided  upon.  They  sold  the  two  first 
lots  to  Dr.  Cox,  at  $150  each,  after  which  they  sold  so  fast  that 
they  advanced  them  to  $200 ;  and,  in  less  than  six  months  $250, 
etc.  And  so  it  held  on  until  the  general  decline  of  property  which 
proceeded  the  general  bankrupt  law.  But  before  this  place  became 
incorporated,  a  general  regulation  of  streets  took  place." 

The  First  Village  or  Williamsburgh. 

The  progress  of  improvement  was,  however,  slow,  and  sur- 
rounded with  discouragements,  which  deferred  any  legal  incor- 
poration or  organization  of  the  village  until  the  year  1827. 
Then  John  Luther  and  Lemuel  Richardson,  or  rather  George  W. 
Pittmore,  having  purchased  sites  for  two  ropewalks  between 
North  Third  and  North  Fourth  streets,  procured  a*  survey  of  the 
adjacent  lands  into  streets  and  lots,  and  forthwith  made  applica- 
tion to  the  legislature  for  an  act,  which  should  confer  upon  the 
place  the  usual  village  powers. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN'.  387 

Accordingly,  on  the  14th  of  April,  1827,  the  legislature  passed 
an  act  of  incorporation,  which  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  Williarasburgh.  In  this  act,  the  boundaries  of  the  village  are 
thus  set  forth :  "  Beginning  at  the  bay  or  river  opposite  to  the 
town  of  Brooklyn,  and  running  thence  to  easterly  along  the 
division  line  between  the  towns  of  Bushwick  and  Brooklyn,  to 
the  lands  of  Abraham  A.  Remsen  ;  thence  northerly  by  the  same 
to  a  road  or  highway,  at  a  place  called  Sweed's  Fly,  thence  by 
the  said  highway  to  the  dwelling  house,  late  of  John  Vandervoort, 
deceased  :  thence  in  a  straight  line  northerly,  to  a  small  ditch,  or 
creek  against  the  meadow  of  John  Skillman  ;  thence  by  said 
creek  to  Norman's  kill ;  thence  by  the  middle  or  centre  of  Nor- 
man's kill  to  the  East  river;  thence  by  the  same,  to  the  place  of 
beginniug." 

The  act  named  the  first  Trustees,  viz :  Noah  Waterbury, 
Abraham  Meserole,  Lewis  Sanford  and  Thomas  T.  Morrell; 
also,  John  Miller,  who  declined  serving. 

The  first  four  named  took  the  oath  of  office  before  Joseph 
Conselyea,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  town  of  Bush- 
wick, April  26th,  1827,  and  entered  on  their  duties. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  board  was  held  at  the  house  of  Van 
Alst  and  Cutting,  April  30th,  when  it  was  organized  by  choosing 
Noah  Waterbury,  president ;  Abraham  Meserole,  secretary,  and 
Lewis  Sanford,  treasurer. 

The  first  official  act  of  the  board,  was  the  appointing  a  meeting 
on  the  4th  of  May,  following,  for  the  granting  of  excise  and 
tavern  licenses.  At  the  day  appointed,  ten  persons  named,  re- 
ceived excise  and  tavern  licenses,  and  paid  (as  per  minutes),  $10 
each,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  the  town  of  Bushwick. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  board,  on  the  7th  of  May,  the  subject 
of  a  survey  of  the  village  was  introduced  by  the  president,  and  the 
making  of  a  map  of  the  same.  A  public  meeting  was  notified 
to  be  held  on  the  23d  of  May,  to  determine  as  to  the  survey  and 
map,  and  to  raise  money  to  defray  the  expense.  At  this  meeting, 
Noah  Waterbury  was  president,  and  Abraham  Meserole,  secretary. 
The  proposition  of  the  survey  being  approved,  a  map  was  ordered. 
Three  hundred  dollars  was  granted  to  cover  the  expense. 


388  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

At  the  next  meeting,  June  13th,  the  president  stated  that  Mr. 
D.  Ewen  was  willing  to  make  the  survey  and  map  for  $300,  which 
proposition  the  board  accepted,  with  directions  that  he  commence 
as  soon  as  possible. 

At  the  next  meeting,  August  14th,  1827,  at  the  house  of  the 
president,  the  president  stated,  that  he  had  completed  the  contract 
with  Mr.  Ewen  as  stated  above ;  the  map  to  exhibit  the  streets, 
roads  and  alleys  to  be  laid  out,  together  with  the  several  parcels 
of  land,  and  by  whom  owned,  as  far  as  practicable. 

The  president  then  stated  (as  appears  at  the  same  meeting), 
that  the  survey  had  been  completed  and  a  map  drawn  as  required ; 
which  map  was  produced  and  approved,  and  thereupon,  the  board 
proceeded  to  permanently  lay  out  the  streets  as  prescribed  thereon. 

And  here,  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  the  very  just  remark 
of  Mr.  Prime,  in  his  History  of  Long  Island,  that,  "  although 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  regularity  in  the  plot,  it  will  be  a  matter 
of  lasting  regret,  that  the  streets  were  not  laid  out  in  exact 
parallels  and  perpendiculars;  and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine,  on 
what  principle,  so  many  veering  and  converging  streets  could 
have  been  laid  down,  on  a  tract  of  land,  that  presented  no  ob- 
stacles to  a  perfectly  regular  plan.  If  it  were  designed  to  accommo- 
date the  existing  line  of  farms,  or  the  few  buildings  that  were 
previously  erected,  it  must  have  been  a  short  sighted  policy  that 
sacrificed  the  convenience  and  beauty  of  a  future  city,  to  the  real 
or  imaginary  interests  of  a  few  individuals.  These  remarks  are 
made  without  any  knowledge  of  the  views  that  governed  the 
survey ;  and  are  suggested  entirely  by  the  fact,  that  in  the  whole 
circuit  of  the  city  of  New  York,  there  is  not  a  spot  of  ground  of 
equal  extent,  where  a  village  could  have  been  laid  out  with  such 
perfect  regularity,  in  both  the  direction  and  the  grade  of  the  streets, 
as  within  the  entire  limits  of  Williamsburgh." 

September  12,  1827.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board,  assessors  and 
collectors  were  appointed,  to  assess  and  collect  the  $300  voted  to 
pay  Mr.  Ewen.  Jacob  Berry,  John  Luther  and  Riley  Clark,  were 
appointed  by  the  board,  assessors,  and  James  Brush,  collector. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  board,  the  above  assessors  were 
ordered  without  delay  to  assess  all  the  real  estate  and  tenements 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  389 

in  the  village.  Oct.  13th,  1827,  the  trustees  ordered  public  notice 
to  be  given,  agreeable  to  the  charter,  for  the  election  of  village 
officers,  viz  :  five  trustees,  three  assessors,  one  collector,  and  one 
treasurer  of  the  village  ;  the  poll  to  be  opened  at  the  house  of  Van 
Alst  &  Cutting,  the  5th  of  November  following.  The  assessors  and 
collector  before  appointed,  appeared  and  took  the  oaths  of  office 
to  fulfill  said  appointments. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board,  November  3d,  Ewen's  Map  was 
accepted  as  the  permanent  map  of  the  village  of  Williamsburgh. 

The  first  village  election  was  held  on  the  5th  of  November, 
1327,  when  the  following  persons  were  elected  to  the  several 
offices  named  :  Assessors,  Jacob  Berry,  John  Luther,  Riley  Clark. 
Tt*ustees,  Noah  Waterbury,  Abraham  Meserole,  Lewis  Sanford, 
Thomas  T.  Morrell,  and  Peter  C.  Cornell.  Treasurer,  John 
Morrell.     Collector,  James  Brush. 

Abraham  Meserole  and  Noah  Waterbury  were  the  inspectors 
of  this  election. 

On  November  27th,  1827,  the  first  elected  board  of  trustees  of 
the  village  of  Williamsburgh  met  at  the  house  of  Peter  P.  Schenck, 
when  Noah  Waterbury  was  chosen  president,  and  Abraham 
Meserole  secretary  for  the  year  then  ensuing.  Resolved,  to  hold 
their  regular  meetings  the  first  Monday  in  each  month.  The 
president  said  the  board  had  not  been  punctual  in  attendance ; 
meetings  had  frequently  failed  of  a  quorum.  A  by-law  was  passed 
fining  those  absent  $1,  unless  they  gave  reasonable  excuse. 

December  30.  Petition  presented  by  John  Luther  to  have 
North  Third  street  opened,  pitched  and  regulated.  Resolved,  that 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  be  granted,  unless  objections  be  made 
on  or  before  the  31st  inst. 

1828.  January  7th.  The  opening  of  North  Third  street  was 
ordered,  and  Mr.  Ewen  was  directed  to  make  the  profile  or 
grade  map. 

February  4th.  Further  measures  on  opening  North  Third 
street.  Grade  map  accepted,  making  highest  point  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  feet  east  of  Third  street,  thirty-one  feet  above 
high  water,  descending  towards  the  turnpike  one  and  a  half  inches 
in  every  ten  feet,  also  the  same  descent  to  First  street,  and  about 


390  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

two  and  a  half  inches  to  each  ten  feet  from  thence  to  the  river. 
John  Sutphen  and  others,  asked  for  the  opening  of  North  Fourth 
street,  which  was  deemed  inexpedient.  Abraham  Meserole  re- 
signed his  office  as  clerk,  and  Mr.  Daniel  S.  Griswold  was 
appointed  counsellor  and  secretary  to  the  corporation  for  the  year. 

March  3d.  Proposals  of  John  and  Silas  Thayer,  for  regulating 
North  Third  street  were  accepted,  Messrs.  Meserole  and  Sanford 
were  appointed  a  committee  with  power  to  superintend  the  opening 
of  the  street.  A  petition  for  opening  First  street  from  Brooklyn 
line  to  Grand  street,  was  received,  and  its  prayer  granted,  and 
Messrs.  Meserole  and  Sanford  were  appointed  a  committee  with 
power  to  carry  the  resolution  into  effect. 

South  Second  street  from  First  to  Ninth  street,  and  South 
Fourth  street  (no  limits  stated),  and  South  Third  street  were  in 
like  manner,  on  petition,  ordered  to  be  opened,  and  committees, 
with  power,  were  appointed.  On  motion,  resolved,  that  South 
Eleventh  street  be  erased  from  the  map. 

March  12th.  Petition  for  opening  First  street  from  Sanford's 
land  to  Grand  street.  Granted.  President  ordered  to  procure  a 
common  seal  for  the  village,  with  such  design  as  he  shall  approve. 
Streets  passed  on,  ordered  to  be  staked  out. 

April  7th.  Holmes  Van  Mater  remonstrated  against  the 
opening  of  South  Second  and  South  First  streets  beyond  Sixth 
street.  North  Fourth  street,  on  petition,  ordered  opened.  Com- 
mittee reported  contract  with  Mr.  Ewen  for  profile  and  stak- 
ing out  of  South  Second,  South  Third,  South  Fourth,  First  and 
North  Third  streets.  The  cross  streets  to  be  staked  out  at  each 
corner. 

All  this  shows  a  commendable  degree  of  enterprise  in  the  village 
fathers,  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  their  wisdom  was  not  altogether 
commensurate  with  their  zeal.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  village  was 
no  sooner  incorporated  than  its  new  authority  excited  legal  and 
political  contentions  with  the  private  holders  of  property,  who  for 
the  first  time  became  subject  to  its  municipal  regulations.  For 
example,  the  attempt  to  open  First  street  along  the  East  river 
front,  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  bitter  lawsuit  between  Jordan 
Coles,  as  plaintiff,  and  the  newly  organized  village,  in  which  Coles 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  391 

v  as  partly  successful,  but  the  open  street  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  public.  Indeed,  it  can  scarcely  be  denied,  that  the  new 
corporation,  in  the  plenitude  of  their  zeal,  and  their  natural  de- 
sire to  assert  the  importance  of  their  office,  were  sometimes 
seduced  into  the  assumption  of  doubtful  powers,  and  made  up  in 
the  violent  energy  of  their  measures,  what  they  lacked  in  know- 
ledge and  skill,  necessary  in  the  management  of  a  municipal 
government.  Another  cause,  also,  tended  to  this  result.  The 
different  parcels  of  property  purchased  for  investment  by  non- 
residents and  outsiders,  quickly  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
little  coterie  of  newly  fledged  speculators,  who  rendezvoused  at 
the  old  Fountain  Inn,  in  the  days  of  its  decline,  and  who  re- 
solved to  get  these  lands  for  a  mere  song,  under  color  of.  the 
majesty  of  the  law.  Thus,  taxation  and  assessment  sales  of  these 
lands  were  instigated  by  them,  with  and  without  law,  and  the 
corporation  became,  unwittingly  perhaps,  the  engine  of  great 
officiousness  in  their  attempted  inroads  upon  the  rights  of  private 
property  held  by  citizens  and  non-residents.  The  corporation, 
indeed,  became  the  cats-paw  for  domestic  speculators  in  these 
matters,  much  to  the  detriment  of  the  village,  inasmuch  as  it  gave 
rise  to  great  uncertainty  as  to  the  titles  of  lands.  Yet  the  practice 
continued  until  probably  ten  thousand  lots  were  sold  for  non- 
payment of  taxes  or  assessment,  while  there  was  not  law  enough 
in  these  assessment  or  tax  titles,  under  which  to  acquire  or  hold 
the  lands  !  * 

During  this  year  the  Reformed  Dutch  church  was  first  organized 
in  the  village. 

1829.  In  January,  a  public  meeting  was  called  to  raise  money 
to  pay  off  the  village  debt.  This  is  the  first  mention  we  have 
seen  of  a  village  debt,  and  it  serves  as  a  milestone  to  mark  the  pro- 
gress of  the  new  municipality.  At  said  meeting  it  was  voted  to 
raise  the  sum  of  $150,  out  of  which  the  clerk  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  was  to  receive  $30  per  annum  as  his  salary.  The  clerk, 
however,  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board,  declined  serving  for  so 


2It  is  said  that  there  are,  at  this  day,  but  two  lots  in  Williamsburgh,  held  under 
these  tax  titles. 


392  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

insignificant  a  sum,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  another.  In  Feb- 
ruary, a  new  post  office  was  established  at  Williamsburgh,  Lewis 
Sanford  being  appointed  postmaster.  In  June,  ensuing,  a  public 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
hook  and  ladder  company.  During  this  year,  North  Third  and 
South  Second  streets  were  built,  and  First  street  between  Grand 
street,  and  the  Brooklyn  line  was  ordered  to  be  opened. 

1830.  January  21st.  A  public  meeting  voted  to  raise  the  sum 
of  $250  for  current  expenses  of  the  village. 

During  the  first  of  the  same  month,  the  trustees  of  the  school 
District  No.  3  (including  the  village  of  Williamsburgh)  in  taking 
the  census  of  the  children,  between  the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen, 
obtained  also  the  following  interesting  statistics  relating  to 
"Williamsburgh.  The  village  contained  a  population  of  1007  souls, 
532  of  whom  werp  males,  and  475  females,  including  87  blacks. 
Of  these  258  males  were  over  21  years,  and  247  females  over  18 
years  of  age,  while  271  were  between  the  ages  of  5  and  16.  There 
were  in  the  village,  148  dwelling  houses,  including  10  stores  or 
taverns.  There  were  also  5  separate  stores,  59  stables  or  barns, 
5  ropewalks,  2  stone  fire-proof  store  houses,  1  brick  ditto,  1  stone 
and  1  brick  storehouse,  1  stone  distillery,  with  a  rectifying  esta- 
blishment, 1  brick  turpentine  distillery,  1  slaughter  house,  2 
butchers,  1  hay  scale  and  3  lumber  yards.  There  was  also 
1  Methodist  meeting  church,  1  (newly  erected)  Dutch  Keformed 
church,  1  district  school,  and  3  private  schools.  Of  the  buildings, 
8  were  vacant  and  8  were  unfinished.  The  different  occupations 
of  the  village  were  as  follows  :  5  carpenters,  4  shoemakers,  1  tailor, 
3  blacksmiths,  2  wheelwrights,  2  apothecaries,  1  cooper.  As  an 
addition  to  these  visible  signs  of  outward  prosperity,  the  Messrs. 
Morrell  had  granted  a  lot  for  a  term  of  years  whereon  to  erect  a 
village  market,  and  John  Luther  was  building  a  two-story  edifice, 
the  upper  part  of  which  designed  for  the  use  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  the  lower  floor  for  a  market. 

1832.  In  this  year,  the  religious  influences  and  advantages  of 
the  village  were  increased  by  the  establishment  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  church,  by  a  secession  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  here. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  393 

1835.  A  census  of  the  town  of  Bushwick,  inclusive  of  the 
village  of  Williamsburgh,  revealed  the  following  statistics:  Popu- 
lation 3,314,  of  which  1,878  were  males,  and  1,436  females  :  this 
number  comprised  449  militia,  589  voters,  394  aliens,  one  pauper, 
176  persons  of  color,  and  a  deaf  and  dumb  mute.  The  number  of 
married  females  under  45  years  of  age,  was  464;  unmarried 
females  between  the  ages  of  16  and  45  years,  226 ;  ditto,  under 
16  years,  565.  There  had  been,  during  the  preceding  year,  10 
marriages ;  70  male  and  62  female  births  ;  41  male  and  18  female 
deaths.  There  were  2,602  acres  of  improved  lands,  1,189  neat 
cattle,  404  horses,  10  sheep,  866  hogs.  Also,  1  grist  mill  con- 
suming raw  material  to  the  value  of  812,000,  and  producing  to  the 
amount  of  $16,000  annually ;  1  distillery  consuming  $108,300, 
and  producing  $113,715  ;  1  distillery  consuming  $54,150,  and  pro- 
ducing $56,857 ;  1  ropewalk,  consuming  $60,000,  and  producing 
$100,000,  another,  consuming  $80,000  and  producing  $94,000, 
another,  consuming,  $3,000  and  produciug  $4,500,  and  another  con- 
suming $15,000  and  producing  $22,000,  being  a  total  of  $398,950 
of  raw  material  consumed,  with  a  corresponding  amount  of  $481,- 
272  produced.  It  was  also  estimated  that  3,000  of  the  above 
population,  and  all  the  manufactories,  except  the  grist-mill,  were 
within  the  village  limits. 

We  may  add  to  the  above  items,  a  few  additional  facts  culled 
from  a  petition  for  a  bank  presented  to  the  legislature,  by  the 
village  of  Williamsbnrgh,  and  the  towns  of  Bushwick,  Xewtown 
and  Flushing,  in  January,  of  the  succeeding  year.  The  petition 
states  that  in  1825,  the  town  of  Bushwick  had  only  958  inhabitants. 
That  in  1827,  the  village  of  "Williamsburgh  was  incorporated, 
and  that  the  assessment  roll  in  1828  shows 

the  value  of  the  real  estate  in  the  town  to  have  been  $359,675 

And  the  value  of  the  personal  estate 47.803 

S407;478 
In  1830  with  a  population  of  1620, 

the  value  of  the  real  estate  in  the  town,  was  S479.660 

the  value  of  personal  estate,  was 66,590 

6546,250 
50 


394  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

In  1835,  with  a  population  of  3,314  (an  increase,  within  5  years,  of  more 

than  100  per  cent)  the  real  estate  amounted  to $2,776,825 

while  the  personal  estate  was 294,056 

$3,070,881  . 
being  an  increase  of  600  per  cent  within  the  last  three  years. 

In  addition  to  the  manufactories,  etc.,  before  mentioned,  the 
report  states  that  there  were  a  variety  of  smaller  establishments, 
lumber  and  wood  yards,  large  store  houses,  etc.,  together  with  72 
streets  in  the  village,  of  which  13  were  opened.1  The  number  of 
houses  was  less  than  300.  Within  the  year  the  prosperity  of  the 
place  was  further  enhanced  by  the  establishment  of  the  Williams- 
burgh  Gazette. 

These  facts  afford  gratifying  evidence  of  the  progress  which  the 
village  had  made,  and  that  too,  in  spite  of  the  machinations  of 
land-jobbers,  the  errors  of  its  local  authorities,  and  the  depressing 
effects  which  had  necessarily  followed  the  reverses  and  failure  of 
its  first  founders.  So  thought  its  inhabitants,  also,  for  they  began 
to  stir  themselves  in  the  matter  of  procuring  an  enlargement  of 
their  village  bounds,  and  the  strengthening  of  their  corporate 
authority.  Upon  their  application,  a  legislative  act  was  passed, 
on  the  18th  of  April,  1835,  extending  the  village  limits  of  Williams- 
burgh  ;  and  another  act,  authorizing  certain  persons  to  erect  and 
maintain  docks,  in  the  said  village,  was  also  passed  on  the  22d  of 
the  same  month.  This  new  village  act  confided  the  management 
of  its  municipal  concerns,  to  a  board  consisting  of  nine  trustees,  to 
be  annually  elected,  and  of  which  board,  Edmund  Frost  was  chosen 
president.  The  enterprise  and  energy  displayed  by  this  board, 
soon  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  place.  Several 
large  and  substantial  wharves  and  docks  were  built,  new  avenues 
of  trade  were  opened  by  the  construction  of  turnpikes,  more  streets 
were  laid  out,  and  a  new  ferry,  to  Peck  Slip,  New  York,  was 
established.     This  latter  enterprise,  indeed,  carried   against  the 

1  This  year  (1835)  South  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets,  were  the  only  ones  below  Grand 
street,  running  from  the  river,  which  had  been  opened ;  and  the  entire  south  side 
had  only  five  or  six  dwellings,  all  told. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  395 

strenuous  opposition  of  New  York,  contributed,  perhaps,  more 
than  any  one  thing  else,  to  increase  the  population  and  the 
prosperity  of  Williamsburgh.  It  afforded  an  immediate  and  much 
needed  connection  between  this  place  and  the  lower  part  of  New 
York,  which  induced  many  merchants  of  that  city  to  locate  their 
residences  on  some  of  the  many  beautiful  and  eligible  building 
sites  which  crowned  the  eastern  shore  of  the  East  river. 

1836.  During  this  year  a  company  of  gentlemen  purchased  the 
Conselyea  farm,  together  with  an  adjoining  estate,  traversed  by 
the  present  Grand  street,  laid  it  out,  and  erected  thereon  fourteen 
elegant  first  class  dwellings  which  they  designed  as  the  pattern 
houses  of  a  new  and  model  city. 

The  hopes  of  these  second  founders  of  Williamsburgh,  were 
destined  to  be  frustrated,  the  whirlwind  of  a  commercial  crisis 
swept  over  them,  and  the  enterprise  proved  a  heavy  loss  to  them. 
The  crisis  of  which  we  speak,  was  the  well  remembered  one  of 
1837,  which  fell  with  peculiar  severity  upon  the  rising  hopes  of 
Williamsburgh.  Since  the  year  1830,  the  advance  in  real  estate 
and  population  had  been  unprecedented,  and  the  mania  of  specula- 
tion which  possessed  every  portion  of  the  land,  had  reached  this 
prosperous  village,  and  turned  the  heads  of  its  real  estate 
owners.  Maps  were  lithographed,  and  extensively  circulated, 
whereon  the  unrivalled  opportunities  and  advantages  for  profitable 
investments  in  a  thousand  ways,  in  the  thriving  village  of  Williams- 
burgh, were  duly  set  forth  in  glowing  colors;  which  uninitiated 
money  men  eagerly  caught  up,  until,  in  1836,  real  estate  there 
actually  exceeded  its  present  par  value.  Finally  the  bubble  burst, 
and  in  the  crash  which  followed,  Williamsburgh,  which  had  been 
the  theatre  of  some  heavy  money  transactions,  suffered  deeply, 
and  a  perfect  business  paralysis  ensued.  For,  the  revulsion  which 
followed  this  over  excited  condition  of  the  popular  mind,  not  only 
dissipated  the  golden  castles  which  enthusiastic  speculators  had 
painted  on  the  clouds  of  hope;  but  seriously  shattered  the  founda- 
tions of  real  and  substantial  property.  Between  cause  and  effect, 
indeed,  there  were  intervening  circumstances  which  delayed  the 
ultimate  catastrophe  to  collateral  investments.  Therefore,  it  was 
not  until  1839  or  1840  that  Williamsburgh  fully  realized  that  the 


396  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

prestige  of  her  second  founders  was  lost.  The  fourteen  buildings, 
which  were  to  have  served  as  the  patterns  of  the  model  city,  re- 
mained in  the  upper  part  of  Grand  street ;  but  their  owners,  with 
a  single  exception,  had  fallen  victims  of  the  commercial  bank- 
ruptcy, and  were  buried  beneath  the  wreck  of  its  desolating  storm. 
These  castles,  by  constraint  of  law  or  necessity,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  strangers,  and  the  names  of  their  once  aspiring  lords  are 
only  to  be  ascertained  by  a  laborious  search  amidst  the  land  re- 
cords of  the  county  of  Kings.  "  The  places  that  once  knew  them, 
shall  know  them  no  more,"  for  they  abode  in  them,  scarcely  long 
enough  to  gain  a  social  identity  with  the  people  of  the  prospective 
town.  Here  and  there,  a  half  finished  building,  abandoned  by  its 
owner,  suggested  the  vanity  of  all  human  hopes;  while,  throughout 
the  whole  village,  the  noise  of  the  axe  and  the  hammer  of  the 
workman  was  unheard.  The  vast  sums  of  money  invested  by 
New  York  capitalists  in  Williamsburgh  lots  had  vanished  into 
thin  air,  since  the  mortgages  given  on  these  lots  for  apart  of  their 
purchase  money,  were,  in  many  instances,  double  the  then  market 
value  of  the  mortgaged  premises. 

From  1840  to  1844  the  court  of  chancery  was  busily  engaged  in 
clearing  away  the  rubbish  of  private  bankruptcies  from  invest- 
ments made  in  these  lots,  that  they  might  stand  discharged  from 
judgments  and  liens  in  the  hands  of  responsible  capitalists,  and 
in  a  condition  for  improvement.  Healthful  legislation,  and  in- 
creasing facilities  of  access  gradually  restored  business  to  its 
wonted  channels,  and  the  village  began  to  improve.  So  rapid 
was  its  progress,  that  in  less  than  two  years,  its  population  had 
doubled,  and  its  ultimate  position  as  a  city  became  a  fixed  fact 
in  the  popular  mind. 

The  Bank  of  Williamsburgh,  organized  under  the  general 
banking  law,  February  9th,  1839,  soon  existed  only  in  the  records 
of  its  articles  of  organization,1  although  it  was  not  to  terminate 
until  the  year  1940  !  "  This  bank  charter,"  says  a  legal  friend, 
"was  something  of  a  curiosity  in  its  way;  if  not  in  its  literature, 
at  least,  in   its  illustration  of  the   views  and   characters   of  its 

1  Liber  79,  Conveyances,  p.  250,  Kings  Co.  Registrar's  office,  date  January  1st,  1839. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  397 

founders.  The  capital  stock  was  to  he  $100,000,  with  power  to 
increase  it  to  8500,000,  divided  into  shares  of  *"><>  cadi.  All  its 
powers  to  be  absolutely  and  irrevocably  vested  in  it-  board  of 
directors.  Its  first  directors  were  named,  viz :  Nicholas  Baight, 
William  Powers,  John  S.  McKibbin,  John  Morrell  and  Lemuel 
Kichardson,  and  were  to  be  so  classified  that  a  fifth  of  their  Dumber, 
and  all  subsequently  elected,  should  continue  in  office  for  five 
years ;  one-fifth  being  elected  each  year.  The  first  election  was 
to  be  held  January  1st,  1840 ;  and  directors  were  each  to  hold 
twenty  shares  of  stock,  or  more,  and  to  appoint  the  president, 
cashier,  etc.  The  directors  were  to  hare  the  authority  to  determine  what 
number  shall  be  a  quorum  to  transact  business,  to  make  by-laws,  etc. 
Installments  of  stock  not  paid  on  call  were  to  be  forfeited  to  the 
association.  One-half  of  the  capital  stock  was  to  be  invested  in 
bonds  and  mortgages,  and  the  other  half  in  the  public  debt  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  the  stock  of  any  incorporated  bank  or  insur- 
ance company  of  the  state  of  New  York.  No  director  or  share- 
holder of  the  association  was  to  be  liable  in  his  individual  capacity 
for  any  contract,  debt,  or  engagement  of  the  said  association." 
The  reader  will  readily  see  how  easily  a  few  leading  speculators 
could  engineer  and  manage  such  a  concern.  The  stock,  no  doubt, 
was  readily  taken  up,  since  cash  seems  not  to  have  been  necessary 
for  paying  it  in.  Real  estate  mortgages  could  be  assigned  at  their 
face,  when  their  real  value  was  not  twenty-five  cents  on  the  dollar. 
United  States  stock  would  answer,  but  that  of  other  bogus  banks 
and  insurance  companies  would  answer  quite  as  well. 

The  bank  went  begging  for  a  president,  for  some  months,  as  it 
was  essential  to  procure  some  moneyed  person  who  could  furnish 
ready  cash  to  put  the  machinery  in  motion.  Lemuel  Richardson, 
worthiest  among  the  second  founders  of  Williamsburgh,  and 
the  only  person  among  them  who  (by  reason  of  his  modesty  in  his 
aspirations  for  public  honors)  had  escaped  bankruptcy,  also  escaped 
the  snare  of  this  presidency,  and  in  consequence  enjoyed  a  worldly 
competence  for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Whether  the  bank 
ever  found  a  president,  we  are  not  informed,  but  its  banking 
house  was  established  at  the  corner  of  First  and  Grand  streets, 
and  a  flaunting  gilt  sign,  lettered  Bank  of  Williamsburgh,  was  dis- 


398  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

played  for  a  day,  and  then  disappeared.  Tradition  asserts  that  the 
same  sign-board,  repainted  and  relettered,  afterwards  indicated 
the  whereabouts  of  a  much  sounder  concern,  known  as  Lemuel 
Richardson's  lock  factory.  Plates  for  bills  were  engraved,  a  few 
notes  were  printed  and  it  is  even  said  that  one  was  signed,  but, 
quien  sabe  ?     It  is  among  the  mysteries  of  our  history. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  period  (1835-1844)  whose  political  and 
financial  history  we  have  been  tracing,  numerous  other,  and  vastly 
more  important  improvements  were  taking  place  in  this  commu- 
nity. The  social,  religious  and  educational  advantages  of  Williams- 
burgh  were  rapidly  increasing,  and  their  influence  began  to  be 
felt  even  amid  the  general  gloom. 

In  1837,  the  Episcopal  Church1  was  organized.  In  1838,  the 
course  of  public  education,  also,  received  a  fresh  impulse,  and  the 
Williamsburgh  Lyceum  was  established.  In  1839,  the  Baptist 
denomination  gained  a  foothold  here,  under  the  title  of  the 
Williamsburgh  Bethel  Independent  church,  now  known  as  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Williamsburgh.  In  1840,  the  Houston  street 
ferry  was  put  into  operation,  affording  a  peculiarly  convenient 
means  of  transit  for  those  residents  employed  at  the  Dry  docks  in 
New  York,  as  well  as  the  Novelty  works,  Morgan's  works  and 
other  great  manufactories  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  metropolis. 
The  press  of  the  village  was  also  augmented  by  the  advent  of  the 
Williamsburgh  Democrat ;  and  the  year  was  further  signalized  by 
the  inception  of  the  first  omnibus  line  in  the  place.  It  was 
started,  and  a  single  vehicle,  at  that,  by  a  Mr.  Williams,  a  painter, 
who  resided  in  South  Fifth  street,  near  Twelfth.  Unlike  the 
systematic  management  of  the  present  lines  of  stages,  the  first 
omnibus  was  driven  promiscuously  through  the  different  streets, 
and  straggling  pedestrians  picked  up  and  conveyed  to  or  from  the 
Peck  Slip  ferry,  which  was  the  focus  of  this  new  enterprise.  Mr. 
Williams  continued  the  running  of  his  omnibus  about  six  months ; 
when,  not  having  sufficient  patronage  to  defray  the  incurred  ex- 
penses, he  abandoned  the  enterprise,  and  thus  the  inhabitants  of 
Williamsburgh  were  again  left  to  their   own  traveling  resources. 

1  St.  Mark's. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  399 

The  census  of  the  village  at  this  time  showed  a  population    of 
5,094,  being  an  increase  since  1835,  of  2,094. 

In  1841,  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  was  established  by  the 
Eoinan  Catholics,  in  the  Dutch  village  neighborhood. 

This  year,  also,  the  first  branch  of  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
being  the  Kings  Co.  Lodge,  No.  45,  was  established  in  the  village.1 
There  were,  at  this  time,  only  two  butchers  in  the  village,  Messrs. 
Barnes  and  Warren. 

In  1842,  the  First  Presbyterian,  and,  in  1843,  the  First  Con- 
gregational church  was  commenced. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  "  the  midnight  cry  "  was  sounded 
long  and  loud  through  these  streets,  and  not  a  few  were  led  to 
believe  that  the  time  of  the  end  was  near.  And,  for  a  number  of 
months  in  1843-4,  this  place  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  favorite 
resorts  of  the  advocates  of  this  false  alarm.  Here  grove  meetings 
were  held  for  many  successive  days,  and  hundreds  assembled  to 
listen  to  the  warning.  Hither  the  author  and  high  priest  of  this 
delusion  came  for  a  final  visit,  just  before  the  expected  end,  and 
publicly  assured  his  deceived  followers,  that,  "  he  had  no  more 
doubt,  that  within  ten  days'  time,  he  should  see  Abraham  and  David 
and  Paul,  and  all  the  holy  patriarchs  and  prophets  and  apostles, 
coming  with  the  Lord  of  Glory,  than  that  he  was  then  addressing 
that  assembly/'  That  many  were  duped  into  the  belief  of  this 
false  doctrine,  cannot  be  doubted.  But  how  much  confidence  some 
of  the  leaders  in  this  scheme  reposed  in  their  own  predictions, 
may  be  inferred  from  a  fact  publicly  witnessed  in  the  streets.  On 
the  very  day,  which  had  been  so  confidently  predicted  for  the 
final  catastrophe,  while  the  sun  was  shining  in  all  its  brightness 
from  a  cloudless  sky,  a  large  printed  hand-bill,  which  must  have 
been  previously  prepared,  was  set  up,  announcing  a  course  of 
lectures  on  the  Second  Advent,  to  commence  on  some  day  of 
the  next  week,  and  to  be  continued  in  successive  weeks.  The 
"  time  of  the  end  "  was  then  regularly  adjourned  for  a  few  months, 
and  the  poor  deluded  multitude  unhesitatingly  deferred  their  hopes 
or  their  fears,  to  a  more  distant  day.     But  in  a  short  time,  the 

1  Prime' 8  History  of  Long  Island. 


400  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

providence  of  God  reenstamped  the  seal  of  falsehood,  upon  this 
impious  pretense  of  "  knowing  the  times  and  the  seasons,  which 
the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power." 

In  1844,  an  amended  city  charter  was  adopted,  under  which 
three  trustees  and  one  collector  were  chosen  for  each  district. 

During  the  year  1844,  the  Williamsburgh  Lyceum,  which  had 
suffered  a  general  decline  since  May,  1839,  was  reorganized, 
and  placed  on  a  basis  of  more  importance  and  benefit  to  the  com- 
munity. Debates  and  lectures  of  a  high  order  of  merit,  gradually 
attracted  the  public  attention,  and  compelled  the  public  interest, 
until  May  13,  1845,  it  was  fully  incorporated  by  act  of  legislature, 
and  started  on  its  career  of  usefulness. 

Shortly  after  its  reorganization,  a  number  of  its  members,  who 
were  jealous  of  some  supposed  sectarian  or  religious  influence  or 
bias  of  the  lyceum,  seceded  therefrom,  and  originated  a  Me- 
chanics' and  Workingmen1  Association.  William  Frisby  was  its  first 
president,  and  John  Broach,  at  different  times,  its  secretary. 
Although  controlled,  to  some  extent,  by  radicals  in  politics  and 
religion,  yet,  on  the  whole,  its  influence  during  its  existence,  was 
wholesome.  The  favorite  lecturers  before  the  association  were 
Yale,  on  astronomy  and  geology;  Fowler,  on  phrenology;  Horace 
Greeley,  on  political  economy  and  the  interests  of  labor;  and 
Albert  Brisbane,  on  association.  The  leading  subjects  of  debate, 
were  :  land  reform ;  the  abolition  of  laws  for  the  collection  of  debt ; 
free  trade  and  tariff;  annexation  of  Texas ;  theatrical  amuse- 
ments, etc.  Thomas  A.  Devyr  was  the  leading  advocate  of 
land  reform;  Henry  B.  Eobertson  and  John  Broach  were  found 
on  the  side  of  free  labor,  and  opposed  to  slavery;  while  Henry 
Ruton,  and  Caleb  Pink  sustained  any  absurd  side  of  any  question, 
that  promised  a  free  fight  and  a  spirited  debate. 

The  same  year  (1845),  also,  the  number  of  religious  denomina- 
tions, represented  in  the  village  of  Williamsburgh,  was  increased 
by  the  organization  of  the  First  Universalist  Church  and  society ; 
and  the  Williamsburgh  Bible  Society  was  formed. 

The  census  of  the  town  for  this  year  was  11,338,  of  which 
5,565  were  males,  and  5,773  females.  The  number  of  deaths  during 
the  preceding  year  was  187,  and  the  increase  of  population  from 
1840  to  1845,  was  6,244. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK  LI  N.  40 1 

1841.  The  Episcppal  church  of  St.  James  (colored);  Second 
M  '  >disl  Episcopal  Church;  First  (German)  Methodist  Episcopal 
were  this  year  organized  here. 

1847.  The  Green-  Point  Baptist ;  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Ascen- 
sion;  First  Bethel  (African)  Methodist  Episcopal;  St.  John's  German 
Lutheran  churches  were  organized. 

1849.  The  WiUiamsburgh  Ferry  Company,  and  Calvary  (Free) 
and  St.  Paul's  Episcopal,  Green-Point  31ission  Zion  (colored),  and 
Third  Methodist  Episcopal  were  organized. 

1850.  The  WiUiamsburgh  Gas-light  Company  was  incorporated 
with  a  capital  of  8337,500. 

This  year  the  first  Directory  of  WiUiamsburgh  was  issued  by 
Samuel  and  T.  F.  Reynolds.  The  number  of  names  contained 
therein  was  5,300,  population  estimated  at  30,786  souls;  dwelling 
houses  3,816;  and  deaths  during  the  previous  year  368. 

North  Sixth  Street  Presbyterian ;  and  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's 
Catholic  churches  were  founded. 

The  increase  of  population  from  1845  to  1850,  was  19,448. 

1851.  The  WiUiamsburgh  Savings  Bank  incorporated. 

The  WiUiamsburgh  Dispensary  was  organized  March  11th ;  the 
Division  Avenue  Ferry  was  commenced. 

The  second  issue  of  Reynolds's  Directory  contains  5,603  names, 
an  increase  of  303  over  the  previous  year.  It  gives  the  population 
of  the  village  for  the  previous  year  (1850)  30,786,  with  3,816 
dwellings  and  174  places  of  industry.  Deaths  during  the  pre- 
ceding year  368. 

The  Second  Baptist;  New  England  Congregational;  and  Second 
Reformed  Dutch  churches  were  established. 

WiUiamsburgh  now  aspired  to  be  a  city,  and  the  required 
charter  being  drawn  up  by  S.  M.  Meeker,  Esq.,  village  counsellor, 
received  the  legislative  sanction  on  the  7th  of  April,  1851.  The 
election  for  city  offices  was  held  in  November  following,  and  the 
charter  went  into  effect  on  the  1st  of  January,  1852.  The  first 
officers  of  the  new  city  were  Dr.  Abraham  J.  Berry,  mayor; 
William  H.  Butler,  city  clerk;  George  Thompson,  attorney  and 
counsel ;  James  F.  Kenny,  comptroller  ;  Horace  Thayer,  Edmund 
Driggs,   Thomas    J.    Van    Sant,   Daniel   Barker   (First   ward); 

51 


402  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Richard  White,  Absalom  Roper,  Jesse  Hobley,  Harris  Comstock 
(Second  ward);  Daniel  Maujer  (president  of  the  board),  William 
Woodruff,  Andrew  C.  Johnston,  Edwin  S.  Ralphs  (Third  ward) 
aldermen. 

The  City  of  Williamsburgh. 

The  Farmers  and  Citizens''  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000, 
and  the  Williamsburgh  City  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $320,000,  and 
the  Williamsburgh  City  Fire  Insurance  Company  were  this  year 
incorporated ;  and  the  Williamsburgh  Medical  Society  was  also 
instituted. 

April.     The  Green-Point  Ferry  was  established. 

The  third  issue  of  the  Williamsburgh  Directory  contained  7,345 
names,  being  an  increase  of  1,742  over  those  of  the  previous  year. 
It  estimates  the  population  of  the  city  at  40,000. 

1853.  January.  The  public  school  census,  taken  during  this 
month,  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty-one  years, 
shows  10,907  whites  and  214  colored,  total,  11,121.  The  popula- 
tion of  Williamsburgh,  at  this  time,  was  between  40  and  50,000. 
The  aggregate  number  of  children  attending  the  public  schools  of 
the  city,  during  any  part  of  the  previous  year,  was  9,372,  of  which 
but  834  had  attended  the  entire  school  year.  Fifteen  private 
schools  were  also  reported,  with  an  attendance  of  about  800. 

March.  The  Williamsburgh  City  Missionary  Society  was  organized. 

The  Young  Men's  Association,  connected  with  the  Third  street 
Presbyterian  church;  the  Fulton  Insurance  Company,  with  a  capital 
of  $150,000,  and  the  Mechanics''  Bank  of  Williamsburgh,  with  a 
capital  of  $250,000  were  this  year  established ;  also,  the  Third 
(colored)  Baptist  church;  Grace  (Protestant  Episcopal)  church; 
First  Mission  Methodist  Episcopal  church ;  German  Evangelical 
Mission  church ;  the  Catholic  church  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Imma- 
culate Conception;  St.  Paul's  (German)  Lutheran  church. 

The  annual  report  of  the  visitors  of  the  New  York  Sabbath 
School  Union  gives  the  following  statement  of  the  condition  of 
the  Sabbath  Schools  of  Williamsburgh,  viz :  there  were  25  schools 
of  every  different  denomination,  numbering  466  teachers,  average 
attendance  387  ;  4,600  scholars  registered,  with  an  average  attend- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  403 

ance  of  3,239  ;  6,297  volumes  in  sabbath  school  libraries  ;  mission- 
ary contributions  $386.  Infant  class  scholars  (included  above) 
465.  Id  the  town  of  Bushwick  there  were  10  different  schools; 
98  teachers,  average  attendance  84 ;  702  scholars,  average  attend- 
ance 472  ;  1,190  volumes  in  the  libraries  ;  $40  given  to  missionary 
purposes,  and  55  in  infant  classes. 

1854.  February.     The  Children's  Aid  Society  was  organized. 

October  10th.  The  Exempt  Firemen's  Association  of  the  City  of 
Brooklyn  [Eastern  District)  was  revived  and  reorganized. 

December.  The  Howard  Benevolent  Society  was  organized, 
connected  with  the  Third  Unitarian  Congregational  church. 

The  Young  Men's  Literary  Association,  and  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Williamsburgh,  were  organized  during  this 
year. 

The  Bushwick  Avenue  Baptist  church ;  Third  Unitarian  church  ; 
Second  Congregational  Methodist  church ;  Graham  Avenue  Protestant 
Methodist  church ;  Ainslie  Street  Presbyterian  church ;  German 
Evangelical  Lutheran,  were  also  organized. 

The  Political  History  of  Williamsburgh,  Prior  to  the 

Consolidation. 

Previous  to  the  year  1840,  national  politics  did  not  materially 
affect  or  influence  the  local  affairs  of  the  village,  and  indeed  the 
only  local  parties  known  here,  arose  from  the  conflicting  interests 
of  different  speculators.  The  contest  of  1840,  however,  with  its 
log-cabin  celebrations,  its  libations  of  hard  cider,  and  its  songs  of 
"  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  made  political  acquaintances  of  those 
who  came  from  distant  sections  of  this  country,  and  from  foreign 
lands,  to  people  our  new  city.  Williamsburgh  then  contained 
about  5,000  inhabitants,  a  community  not  too  large  to  be 
thoroughly  canvassed  in  a  close  contest.  The  foreign  element  in 
this  population  was  increasing  in  relative  strength,  and  the  appeals 
made  to  its  partisan  proclivities  during  the  late  contest  had  made 
it  impudent  in  its  demands,  and  insolent  towards  the  native  popu- 
lation. So  Williamsburgh  became  agitated  with  the  antagonisms 
of  "  native  Americans"  against  " bloody  furriners,"  and   in  the 


404  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN, 

elections  of  1842,  the  Log-cabin  party  of  1840,  were  nearly  all 
identified  with  the  American  party.  This  new-fledged  party 
seized  the  reins  of  power  in  New  York,  and  became  the  dominant 
party  in  Williamsburgh.  But  a  small  band  of  politicians,  adher- 
ing to  the  old  whig  regime  of  1840,  resisted  all  the  encroachments 
of  the  new  faith;  and  the  awkward  fist  made  by  the  native 
American  rulers  in  New  York,  certainly  gave  prestige  and  some 
show  of  propriety  to  the  straight  whig  organization  of  Williams- 
burgh. The  straight  whig  leaders  foresaw  in  the  approach  of 
the  presidential  contest  of  1844,  the  occasion  that  would  only  re- 
tain them  as  leaders,  and  give  them  the  great  bulk  of  the  old 
whigs  of  1840  as  their  followers.  The  result  of  that  contest  is 
known ;  it,  however,  gave  to  the  straight  whig  leaders  of  the  place, 
a  position  of  influence  in  its  local  councils. 

"With  the  variable  and  fluctuating  population  which  surrounded 
them,  it  was  easier  to  get  position,  than  to  retain  it,  hence  the 
leaders  cast  about  them  for  allies  and  voters  who  would  follow 
their  lead.  They  discovered  that  the  fire  department  of  the  village, 
numbering  among  its  membership  many  young  men  full  of  fun 
and  frolic,  might  make  up  the  much  desired  controlling  majority 
in  the  elections.  The  fire  department,  therefore,  immediately 
became  the  object  of  special  favor  and  care  with  these  astute  whig 
leaders.  New  engines  and  apparatus  were  ordered  at  the  public 
expense  ;  sometimes,  even,  without  the  formality  of  a  vote  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  village,  and  political  death  was  threatened 
to  any  one  who  should  venture  to  suggest  a  due  regard  to  public 
economy,  against  any  demand,  however  unreasonable,  which 
should  be  made  by  the  fire  department,  or  by  politicians  in  their 
behalf.  The  policy  thus  inaugurated  by  the  whig  party  of 
Williamsburgh  was  identically  the  same  which  they  had  de- 
nounced in  the  former  days  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren,  viz:  of 
rewarding  political  friends  at  the  expense  of  the  public  treasury, 
and  of  punishing  their  enemies  by  paying  them  out  of  money 
derived  through  taxation  from  the  pockets  of  their  antagonists. 
The  demoralization  of  the  masses  which  resulted  from  this  action 
of  the  whig  leaders,  was  undoubtedly  worse  in  its  effects  upon  the 
progress  and  prosperity  of  Williamsburgh,  than  a  similar  result 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  405 

from  the  opposite  party,  who  recited  no  aphorisms  of  honorable 
patriotism  from  the  lips  of  national  statesmen,  but  boldly  flaunted 
the  banner,  upon  which  was  inscribed  "  plunder  and  spoils."  It  was 
not  to  be  expected  of  a  party  who  had  always  maintained  so  high 
a  profession  of  political  honor,  but  it  was  true  that  these  whig 
leaders  repelled  public  inquiry  into  their  actions,  brow-beat  the 
tax-payers  when  they  complained,  and  broke  down  that  high  sense 
of  propriety  in  public  office  and  trusts,  which  had  been  the  glory 
of  the  party  since  the  days  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  The  fire 
department  of  the  village  was  understood  to  be  the  tool  of  their 
ambition,  purchased  by  largesses  and  extravagant  outfits  at  the 
expense  of  the  tax-payers.  And  thus  the  moral  sense  of  the 
community,  and  a  wholesome  public  opinion,  the  best  safeguards 
to  public  interest,  were  broken  down,  and  assurance  was  given 
to  the  mercenary  hordes  of  self-styled  reformers,  who  succeeded 
them,  and  plundered  the  public  treasury  of  bushels  of  silver.  The 
whig  party  may  be  held  responsible  for  much  of  the  subsequent 
misrule  which  characterized  the  history  of  Williamsburgh  as 
a  village  and  a  city,  inasmuch  as  they  effectually  broke  down 
the  public  faith  in  political  honesty,  and  forced  upon  the  public 
mind  a  conviction  that  venality  and  corruption  were  to  a 
certain  extent  a  necessary  part  of  civil  government.  Indeed  the 
final  catastrophe,  by  which  the  city  of  Williamsburgh  lost  its 
identity  and  became  merged  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  was  in  some 
degree  a  result  of  this  public  faithlessness  in  political  virtue,  en- 
gendered by  the  career  of  the  whig  party  of  this  place.  For,  the 
misrule  and  troubles  to  which  Williamsburgh  was  subjected  by 
its  rulers,  and  the  impression  that  no  change  could  make  matters 
any  worse,  but,  possibly,  better,  contributed  greatly  to  the  move- 
ment of  consolidation  with  Brooklyn. 


406  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


CHAPTER  X. 


GREEN-POINT. 


Isolated  by  its  peculiar  position  between  Newtown  and  Bush- 
wick  creeks,  and  occupied  only  by  a  few  large  farms,  Green-Point 
or  Cherry-Point,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  may  be  said  to  have 
enjoyed  an  almost  separate  existence  from  the  rest  of  the  old 
township  of  Bushwick.  It  contained,  during  the  Revolutionary 
period,  and  for  years  after,  only  five  (Dutch)  families,  each  having 
its  own  dwelling  house,  its  own  farm  and  its  own  retinue  of  jolly 
negroes  in  field  and  kitchen. 

I. 

On  the  shore  of  Newtown  creek,  on  present  Clay  street,  be- 
tween Union  and  Franklin  avenues,  resided  Jacob  Bennett;  whose 
father,  then  quite  an  old  man,  owned  and  lived  upon  a  farm,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  which  he  subsequently  gave  to  his 
son-in-law,  Mr.  Hunter,  from  whom  it  derived  its  present  name  of 
Hunter9 s  Point.  It  is  related  of  this  Jacob  Bennett,  that  he  was 
awakened  one  night,  during  the  war,  by  one  of  his  father's  negroes 
who  had  crossed  the  creek  with  news  that  a  party  of  British 
marauders  were  robbing  the  old  man's  house.  Calling  to  his  aid 
his  neighbor  Abraham  Meserole  and  John  A.,  his  son,  together 
with  all  the  negroes  at  hand,  they  hurried  across  the  creek  to  the 
rescue;  and,  having  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat,  by  destroying 
their  boats,  they  pursued  them  to  the  meadows,  where  they  over- 
took them  in  a  sinking  condition,  being  much  hampered  with  some 
$6,000  which  they  were  endeavoring  to  carry  off.  Most  of  the 
plunderers  escaped,  but  the  officer  in  command  was  caught  and 
deprived  of  his  sword,  which  would  have  been  the  instrument  of 
his  instant  decapitation  at  the  hands  of  a  negro  of  the  party,  had 


Mab  @f  Careen  Point 

{.Bennett  House,,  (a/'tcrnards  owned  b\  John  Mese role  ) 

2.  Provost  Houses. 

3.  Jofat  A  Jfeseroles  House ,  now  occupied  l)\  Mr.XcuaJi  Btiss. 
^.Jacobus  Cat  vers  House  . 

5.  Peter  yfeserote's  House  .(now  oceupieei  by  fas  sons  Wm.M.,  &  Adrian  .1 

6.  The  Provost  Burial  Place  . 

7.  Peter  Calyers  House  . 

8.  Copt  Jo? i?i  Iteser-oles  House  . 

9.  The  old  Jacob  tfese/'ole  House  .      Father  of  Peter.  ) 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  407 

it  not  been  for  the  timely  interference  of  John  A.  Meserole,  whose 
son,  Archibald  K.  Meserole,  still  treasures  the  weapon  as  an 
interesting  family  relic.  Some  years  after  the  war,  another  Bennett 
house  was  erected  near  the  present  bridge,  and  was  subsequently 
sold  to  a  Yankee  by  the  name  of  Griffin,  but  this,  likewise,  lias 
disappeared  before  the  march  of  improvement, 

n. 

On  the  edge  of  the  meadows  near  the  north-east  corner  of 
present  Oakland  and  Freeman  streets,  on  premises  since  owned 
by  James  W.  Valentine,  stood  the  old  Provost  dwelling  previously 
mentioned  (page  323)  as  the  original  Capt.  Peter  Praa house.  This 
venerable  building,  was  built  of  stone,  and,  after  its  desertion  by 
the  family,  about  1833,  met  an  untimely  fate  by  fire,  caused  by 
the  carelessness  of  some  negroes  who  had  taken  possession  of  it. 
The  old  Provost  family  burial  place  is  still  in  existence,  at  the 
north-east  corner  of  India  and  Oakland  streets. 


ILL 

On  the  river  bank,  on  premises  now  owned  by  Mr.  Neziah 
Bliss  (between  India  and  Java  streets)  was  the  old  Abraham 
Meserole  house,  built  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
although  the  western  portion  of  it  is  of  more  modern  date,  about 
1775.  The  then  proprietor,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  Archibald 
K.  Meserole,  was  born  in  1725,  and  died  near  the  close  of  the 
century,  leaving  his  son,  John  A.,  in  possession.  This  John  A., 
born  in  1752,  had  the  misfortune  to  experience  the  cruelties  of 
the  British  as  a  prisoner  in  their  dungeons  at  New  York,  during 
the  Revolution.  He  survived  its  horrors,  however,  aud  reared  a 
large  family,  dying  at  a  ripe  old  age,  in  1833.  His  family,  also, 
suffered  much  from  the  Hessians,  a  troop  of  whom  were  quartered 
in  the  house,  and  made  free  with  all  the  live  stock  upon  the  farm, 
with  the  exception  of  one  cow,  which  the  family  succeeded  in 
hiding  back  in  the  woods,  in  a  nook,  since  occupied  by  S.  D. 
Clark's  grocery  store. 


408  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Upon  this  estate  was  erected,  in  later  times,  a  building  known 
as  the  Baisley  house,  which  was  used  for  many  years  as  a  tenant 
house  for  the  farm.  It  still  stands  on  H,  near  Franklin  street, 
and  is  occupied  by  Moore  the  marble  man. 


rv. 

Just  beyond  the  woods  on  the  site  of  Mr.  Samuel  Sneeden's  late 
residence  (Colyer  near  and  east  of  Washington  street)  stood  the 
house  of  old  Jacobus  Colyer,  the  worthy  ancestor  of  all  of  that  name 
in  this  vicinity.  He  died  in  1804,  full  of  years,  and  remembered 
with  respect  by  all  who  knew  him.  The  house  was,  at  one  time, 
in  possession  of  Purser  Thomas,  of  the  United  States  navy. 

After  the  Revolution,  a  son  of  Peter  Colyer  built  a  house  on  the 
west  side  of  Leonard,  now  Colyer  street,  and  which  was  subse- 
quently destroyed  by  fire. 


Next,  and  the  last  of  the  series  of  these  originals,  was  the 
residence  of  Jacob  Meserole,  which  yet  stands  near  Bushwick  creek 
(Lorimer  street  near  Norman  avenue)  embosomed  in  trees  and 
shrubbery,  a  pleasant  memorial  of  the  olden  time,  and  is  occupied 
by  William  M.  and  Adrian  Meserole,  the  grandsons  of  the  Re- 
volutionary proprietor.  They  were  the  sons  of  Peter,  and  their 
uncle  John,  after  the  Revolution,  erected  a  residence  for  himself 
on  the  same  original  farm,  on  Guernsey  street,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  south  of  Norman  avenue.  This  house  was  burned 
afterwards. 

These  iive  buildings,  with  their  barns  and  barracks,  and  the  old 
slate-enclosed  powder  house,  below  the  hill,1  on  the  spot  since 
covered  by  Simonson's  ship-yard,  and  which  was  afterwards  re- 
moved as  an  undesirable  neighbor,  constituted  the  whole  of  Green- 
Point  settlement.     It  must  have  presented,  in  those  far-off  days, 

XA  bluff,  some  sixty  feet  higher  than  the  present  grade,  and  near  the  site  of 
the  present  Francis's  Metallic  Life-boat  factory. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  N.  409 

a  charming  picture  of  Arcadian  simplicity  and  comfort  Shutout 
from  the  world,  as  it  were,  yet  only  separated  from  the  city  by 
the  Bast  river,  the  residents  of  this  quiet  farming  district  pun 
their  daily  avocations,  unambitious  of  office,  oblivious  of  the  rise 
of  real  estate  and  the  advantages  of  town  lots;  sociable,  hospitable, 
contented.  We  may  fancy  the  hum  of  the  spinning  wheel  ;  the 
ring  of  the  harvest  blades;  the  lowing  of  the  sleek  cattle  brow-- 
in  or  in  the  meadows  or  cooling  their  sides  at  the  edges  of  the 
creeks ;  the  shrill  blasts  of  the  dinner  horn  calling  the  men  from 
the  field;  the  thwack  of  the  flails  upon  the  barn  floor,  keeping 
time  to  the  whistle  or  the  rude  ditty  of  the  negro ;  the  long  social 
evening  chats  around  the  open  fire-place,  where  half  a  (modern) 
cord  of  wood  blazed  out  its  wondrous  comfort ;  the  receptions  of 
the  old  domine  and  his  vrouw,  from  Bushwick,  when  the  best 
room  was  opened  and  the  boys  said  their  catechism  in  fear  and 
trembling,  while  CufTee  gave  the  pony  a  round  mess  of  oats  from 
the  lean  to ;  the  quilting  parties  and  the  frolics  and  suppers  that 
followed,  and  the  sparking  of  the  young  folks  when  the  old  folks 
had  retired.  All  these  things  we  can  fancy  ;  but  the  imagination  is 
powerless  to  describe  the  smooth  and  mellifluous  cadences  of  the 
language  which  gave  life  to  these  old  tenements  and  sounded  from 
neighbor  to  neighbor  as,  for  example,  "  Hoe  vaartgijf  Zijt  gij 
icel?  Is  uw  huisgezin  gezond?  J  a ,  icij  zijn  alien  wel.  Welkom 
vriend,  wij  zijn  blijde  u  le  zien.  Kom  in  en  grot  t  mijn  vrowv."  How 
beautiful !  ne'er  shall  we  hear  the  like  again  —  what  a  pity ! 

A  peculiar  lack  of  facilities  for  communication  with  the  outside 
world,  contributed  largely  to  the  isolation  which  we  have  men- 
tioned as  characteristic  of  Cherry  Point.  The  only  road  from 
there  to  any  place,  began  at  old  Abraham  Meserole's  barn,  ran 
diagonally  across,  north-east  to  the  east  end  of  F  street,  then  past 
the  Provost  premises,  then  south  to  AVillow  Pond  (now  Metz's 
chemical  factory,  north  side  India,  east  of  Union  avenue),  thence 
along  the  meadow  to  WyekofFs  woods,  so  to  old  Bushwick  church 
to  the  Cross  Roads,  and  from  that  point  "  round  Robin  Hood's  barn" 
to  Fulton  Ferry,  where  the  wearied  traveler  embarked  in  a  ferry- 
scow  for  Coenties  slip,  at  the  city,  and  was  thankful  if  he  arrived 
there  in  safety,  it  being  a  little  more  than  he  had  reason  to  expect. 

52 


410  HISTOEY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

As  for  going  to  Astoria,  it  has  been  described  as  being  something 
like  -taking  a  journey  to  the  Moon,  there  being  no  road  thither, 
until  the  erection  of  the  penny-bridge  in  1796,  which  let  the  people 
out  into  the  mysteries  of  the  island,  and  left  them  to  feel  their  way 
around  in  the  woods  to  Astoria.  Each  farmer,  however,  owned  his 
boat  with  which  he  conveyed  produce  to  the  New  York  market ; 
and,  for  all  practical  purposes  of  intercommunication  with  each 
other  or  with  their  friends  in  Newtown,  Bushwick  or  Brooklyn, 
they  used  the  boat  much  more  frequently,  perhaps,  than  the  road. 

The  modern  history  of  Green-Point  dates  from  the  year  1832,  at 
which  time  there  appeared  in  that  quiet  and  almost  forgotten 
neighborhood,  a  live  Yankee,  Neziah  Bliss,  by  name,  who  married 
into  one  of  the  original  Dutch  families  of  the  point;  and,  with  the 
proverbial  energy  and  tact  of  his  race,  soon  began  to  develop  the 
hitherto  unimagined  resources  of  that  locality.  Henceforth,  the 
history  of  Green-Point  was  identical  with  that  of  Neziah  Bliss.1 

In  the  year  1832,  he  purchased,  in  connection  with  Dr.  Eliphalet 

.  1  Neziah  Bliss,  son  of  Samuel  (and  grandson  of  Dr.  Neziali  Bliss,  an  eminent  and 
wealthy  citizen  of  Tolland  county,  Conn.,  which  county  he  represented  for  many 
successive  years  in  the  state  legislature),  was  born  in  May,  1790,  at  Hebron,  C&nn. 
Thrown,  at  an  early  age,  upon  the  world,  through  the  improvidence  of  his  father, 
young  Bliss  first  went,  in  1807  to  New  Haven,  where  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  store. 
In  1810,  he  removed  to  New  York  city,  where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Robert 
Fulton,  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame  as  the  inventor  of  steam  boats.  At  his  house 
he  was  a  frequent  and  welcome  visitor,  and  even  now  speaks  with  pleasure  of  the 
instruction  which  Fulton  was  always  ready  to  give,  and  the  lively  interest  which  he 
ever  manifested  in  his  young  friend's  progress.  Full  of  the  subject  of  steam  naviga- 
tion, he  went,  in  the  fall  of  1811,  to  Philadelphia,  where,  in  the  following  spring  he 
became  concerned  with  Daniel  French  in  the  organization  of  a  company  to  build  a 
little  steam  boat.  This  vessel  was  about  sixty  feet  long,  by  twelve  feet  wide,  and 
was  constructed  with  an  oscillating  engine  and  a  stern-wheel,  which  Bliss  judged 
to  be  best  adapted  to  avoid  the  drift  wood  which  formed  so  serious  an  impediment  to 
the  navigation  of  the  western  waters.  This  little  boat  was,  for  some  time,  employed 
as  a  ferry  boat  between  Philadelphia  and  William  Cooper's  landing.  About  the  same 
time,  also,  Mr.  Bliss  became  intimately  acquainted  with  Oliver  Evans,  since%nown  as 
the  originator  of  mill  machinery,  elevators,  coolers  and  rail  roads,  and  was  concerned 
with  him  in  many  of  his  earlier  experiments  with  rails,  etc.  During  his  residence 
in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Bliss  was  employed,  as  a  clerk,  in  a  book  store  and  in  other 
pursuits. 

In  1816  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  and  in  1817  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  eldest  son 
of  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Harrison,  afterward  president  of  the  United  States ;  and  together 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  v  411 

Nott,  some  thirty  acres  of  fche  John  A.  and  the  Peter  Meserole 
form,  and,  in  1833,  he  bought  the  Griffin  farm  atanction.  Daring 
the  following  year,  he  had  the  whole  of  Green-Poinl  surveyed,  at 

his  own  expense,  laying  it  out  in  streets  and  lots,  and  running  the 
lines  so  as  to  connect  with  the  adjacent  village  of  WilliamsDurgh. 
In  1835,  he  became  the  owner  of  the  Hunter  |  Point)  farm,  having 
an  eve  to  the  projected  removal  of  the  United  States  Navy  Yard 
from  Brooklyn  to  Green-Point.  These  negotiations,  at  one  time 
in  a  state  of  great  forwardness,  were  finally  frustrated ;  and,  all 
but  twelve  acres  of  his  Green-Point  property  was  lost  to  Mr. 
Bliss  by  the  manoeuvres  of  certain  parties  concerned  with  him  in 
these  transactions.  Undaunted  by  these  trials  and  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  place,  he  built,  in  1838,  a 

with  him  became  interested  in  the  organization  of  a  company  for  the  construction  of 
another  steam  boat.  This  boat,  named  the  General  Pike  (in  honor  of  Gen.  Zebulon 
Montgomery  Pike,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  York,  and  who  was  the  father-in- 
law  of  young  Harrison),  was  one  hundred  feet  long  and  twenty-five  feet  wide  ;  was 
the  first  boat  ever  built  at  Cincinnati,  and  the  sixth  built  upon  the  western  waters, 
although  the  only  one  at  that  time  running,  and  ran  between  Cincinnati  and  Louis- 
ville, Ky.  The  only  ship  builder  whose  services  could  at  that  time  be  procured  in 
Cincinnati  was  one  Brooks,  from  the  state  of  Maine,  who  had  previously  been  en- 
gaged in  building  sloops,  while  the  other  carpenters  employed  upon  the  work  had 
to  be  selected  from  common  house  joiners.  The  engines  were  constructed  by  a  Mr. 
William  Greene,  an  engineer  of  that  city,  from  plans  and  specifications  furnished 
mostly  by  Mr.  Bliss,  who,  also,  assisted  Greene  in  establishing  a  foundery  in  which  to 
cast  them.  The  boat  was  first  run  in  1819,  performed  tolerably  well,  and  made  money 
for  its  owners.  In  1820,  Bliss  sold  out  his  interest,  went  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  1821, 
entered  the  state  of  Missouri.  Here,  providing  himself  with  horse,  saddle  and  bridle 
and  with  no  companion  but  a  guide  he  followed  the  trail  described  by  Schoolcraft  in 
his  View  of  the  Mines  and  Resources  of  Missouri,  and  visited  the  now  celebrated  Iron 
Mountain  of  Missouri.  Becoming  deeply  impressed  with  the  immense  resources 
which  might  there  be  developed,  he,  with  the  aid  of  his  friend  Ex-Governor  Gen. 
Clarke,  procured  the  passage  of  a  legislative  act,  authorizing  a  loan  of  $50,000,  for 
the  term  of  twelve  years,  without  interest,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  iron  from 
the  Iron  Mountain.  He  immediately  entered  into  arrangements  with  parties  from 
Ohio,  to  prosecute  the  work,  but  a  serious  illness  which  attacked  him,  and  the  pro- 
tracted debility  which  followed  it,  forced  him  to  abandon  the  further  prosecution  of 
his  project,  which  is  now  being  realized  in  the  mines  of  the  Iron  Mountain.  In  1838, 
Mr.  Bliss  purchased  a  steam  saw-mill  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  for  a  time,  he  sawed 
hard  timber,  but  at  length  made  a  trip  up  to  Prairie-du-Chien,  in  the  first  steam  boat 
which  ever  ascended  to  that  point,  with  the  intention  of  procuring  pine  timber  from 
the  Indian  lands  not  ceded  to  the  United  States  government.     On  arriving  there, 


412  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

foot  bridge,  across  Bushwick  creek,  at  a  cost  of  about  $800,  a 
considerable  portion  of  which  was  furnished  by  himself.  About 
the  same  time  he  secured  a  new  survey  of  the  point  and  the 
incorporation  of  a  road  sixty  feet  wide  across  the  lower  end  of 
Green-Point,  and  along  the  line  of  present  Franklin  street,  called 
the  Ravenswood,  Green-Point  and  Hallet's  Cove  turnpike,  at  an 
expense  of  $20,000,  which  was  opened  in  1839,  and  was  subse- 
quently continued  to  Williamsburgh.  The  road,  however,  was 
not,  by  any  means,  as  level  as  the  present  Franklin  street;  it  had  its 
ups  and  downs,  some  of  them  pretty  formidable,  so  that,  indeed, 
even  as  late  as  1853,  the  reply  given  to  the  traveler  inquiring  for 
"Williamsburgh  might  properly  have  been  "  over  the  hills,  and  far 
away."  Still,  the  turnpike  was  the  opening  door  to  Green-Point's 
future  growth.     Then,  and  not  before  then,  streets  and  house  lots 

however,  lie  found  that  express  orders  from  government  had  preceded  him,  against 
his  being  allowed  to  procure  the  timber,  and  he  consequently  returned  homeward, 
visiting,  on  his  route,  Galena,  111.,  then  a  hamlet  consisting  of  a  few  miners'  log 
cabins.  Arriving  at  St.  Louis,  he  disposed  of  his  mill,  and  went,  in  the  fall  of  1824, 
to  New  Orleans.  During  the  ensuing  winter  he  went  to  Oupelousas,  La.,  where  he 
organized  a  company  for  steam  boat  navigation  between  that  point  and  New  Orleans. 
The  boat  was  built  at  Cincinnati,  and  successfully  run  on  its  intended  route,  passing 
down  stream,  through  the  Bayou  Placquemine,  a  distance  of  eleven  miles,  stern  fore- 
most! This  boat,  the  Oupelousas,  was  the  first  on  this  part  of  the  Mississippi. 
On  returning,  in  1827,  to  New  York,  Mr.  Bliss  received  and  partially  accepted  a  flatter- 
ing proposition  to  go  to  Mexico  as  an  agent  of  the  Baring  Brothers,  of  London, 
England.  At  this  j  uncture  he  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Eliphalet  Nott,  formerly 
president  of  Union  College,  New  York,  with  whom  he  was  engaged  during  part  of 
1827  and  '28  in  certain  experiments  in  steam  navigation.  In  1831,  Mr.  Bliss  esta- 
blished the  now  celebrated  Novelty  works,  in  New  York  city,  with  the  view  of 
constructing  sea  steamers.  In  1832,  he  purchased  the  property  then  known  as  Stuy- 
vesant's  cove,  just  above  the  present  Novelty  works,  in  New  York  island ;  and,  in 
connection  with  Dr.  Nott,  became  the  owner  of  thirty  acres  of  the  John  Meserole 
farm  in  Green-Point,  L.  I.,  within  the  present  city  of  Brooklyn,  where  his  present 
residence  is  ;  and,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  John 
A.  Meserole,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  has  six  children. 

From  this  point  his  history  becomes  incorporated  with  that  of  Green-Point,  which 
he  has  seen  grow  up  from  a  few  farms  to  a  populous  village,  and  subsequently  to  a 
beautiful  and  promising  ward  of  the  third  city  of  the  Union.  Surrounded  by  innu- 
merable evidences  of  his  own  large-hearted  foresight,  and  the  results  of  his  own 
fostering  care  ;  crowned  with  the  honors  of  a  well  spent  lifetime  ;  and  enjoying  the 
affection  of  a  large  family,  and  the  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens,  he  well  merits  the 
position  which  is  unanimously  accorded  to  him,  as  "  the  Patriarch  of  Green-Point." 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  413 

began  to  be  a  reality,  on  the  basis  (With  the  exception,  much  to 
be  pitied,  of  the  farms  on  the  southern  and  Bouth-western  pari  of 

the  point)  of  Mr.  Bliss's  survey  of  1834.  The  first  house  builder 
was  John  Hillyer,  the  mason,  who  boldly  broke  ground  in  the 

field,  about  forty  rods  from  the  present  Dutch  Reformed  Church  on 
I  street,  in  November,  1839;  the  edifice,  a  substantial  brick  one, 
being  sufficiently  completed  to  admit  of  his  occupying  it  with  his 
family,  in  June  of  the  following  year.  A  few  months  after  Mr. 
Brightson  commenced  building  on  two  lots  in  J  street,  in  the  rear 
of  Doan's  present  meat  market;  and  almost  simultaneously, 
three  other  buildings  were  begun  (1)  the  house  now  occupied  by 
Benton,  the  grocer.  A  colored  man  purchased  sixteen  lots  there  for 
$50  a  lot,  put  up  the  house  and  sold  the  whole  premises,  about  1842, 
forS2,300.  The  building  soon  became  an  inn,  well  remembered  by 
the  oldest  inhabitants  of  Green-Point  as  Poppy  Smith".-  tavern  ;  (2) 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Archibald  K.  Meserole,  on  the  hill  (north  side 
of  Eagle  street  between  Franklin  and  Washington  streets),  since 
occupied  by  Collyer,  the  ship  builder,  and  (3)  the  store  house, 
afterwards  Yogt's  paint  shop,  built  by  Cother  &  Ford  for  A.  K. 
Meserole.  And  now  the  dwellers  in  ISTew  York  fairly  got  wind 
of  Green-Point  and  its  advantages,  and  the  houses  came  so  thick 
and  fast  that  it  is  entirely  beyond  the  powers  of  the  most  active 
historian  to  keep  track  of  their  erection.  Many  of  these  houses 
stood  up  on  stilts,  bearing  very  much  the  appearance  of  having 
been  commenced  at  the  roof  and  gradually  built  downward,  a 
sufficient  number  of  stories  being  appended  to  reach  the  ground. 
This  style  of  building,  peculiarly  characteristic  of  Green-Point  in 
the  earlier  days,  obtained  mostly  on  the  locality  known  by  the 
people  of  that  day  as  the  Orchard,  and,  also,  in  J,  Washington 
and  Franklin  streets,  and  was  rendered  necessary  by  the  extreme 
depth  of  the  mud,  always  the  great  drawback  of  the  place. 

Trade,  also,  put  forth  its  initiatory  efforts  at  the  store  house,  be- 
fore alluded  to,  as  Yogt's  paint  shop.  At  this  country  store, 
centered  the  literary,  political  and  speculative  interests  of  the 
point;  it  was,  in  short,  the  gossip-place.  Its  first  proprietor  retired 
from  the  store,  in  disgust,  after  two  months  experience;  and  was 
succeeded  by  David Swalm,  whose  success  attracted,  in  November, 


414  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1843,  the  attention  of  some  burglars,  the  first  criminal  event  which 
the  faithful  historian  of  Green-Point  must  chronicle.  The  first 
coal  yard  was  opened  at  the  foot  of  F  street,  on  the  East  river,  at 
the  projection  of  the  shore,  from  which  Green-Point  originally 
derived  its  name.  This  coal  establishment,  in  1849,  was  purchased 
by  Abraham  Meserole,  who  transferred  the  business  to  the  corner 
of  J  and  Franklin  streets,  under  the  firm  name  of  A.  K.  &  A. 
Meserole.  The  coal  yard  was  speedily  followed  by  other  lines  of 
industry,  and  by  various  manufactories. 

Religion  brought  its  benign  influences  to  bear  upon  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  rapidly  increasing  settlement,  in  the  guise  of  a 
sabbath  school,  which  was  convened,  during  the  fall  of  1845,  in 
the  basement  of  Clark  Tiebout's  house  in  Franklin  street,  adjoin- 
ing Doan's  market.  It  was  a  union  of  all  denominations,  and 
exceedingly  small  at  that,  and  its  first  superintendent  was  Wil- 
liam Yernoon.  It  soon  outgrew  its  original  accommodations  and 
was  removed  to  the  then  new  school  house  on  the  hill  ;  but  the 
school  trustees  of  the  district,  fearful,  perhaps,  of  even  an  in- 
cipient union  of  church  and  state,  refused  the  use  of  the  building, 
and  the  sabbath  school  became,  awhile,  a  traveling  institution, 
locating  for  a  season  in  the  old  Provoost  barn  (Freeman  near 
Oakland  street),  and,  finally,  in  1846,  in  the  loft  of  D.  Swalm's 
store.  Here  regular  sabbath  services  were  held,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  various  evangelical  denominations,  except  the 
Episcopalian,  which  had  already  made  a  beginning  here  in  1846. 
The  Methodist,  Baptist  and  Reformed  Dutch  commenced  their 
distinctive  church  organizations  in  1847,  and  were  followed  by  the 
Universalists  and  Roman  Catholics  in  1855. 

The  honorable  profession  of  medicine,  was  first  represented  in 
Green-Point  by  Dr.  Snell,  a  regular  Dutchman,  from  Herkimer 
county,  N".  Y.,  who  settled  here  in  1847.  He  was  followed  in 
1850,  by  Dr.  Job  Davis,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  Doctors  Peer  and 
Hawley,  Heath,  Wells,  and  others. 

The  first  squire  and  constable  of  which  the  place  could  boast, 
were  appointed  about  1843.  Just  in  the  nick  of  time,  too ;  for,  one 
day,  the  quiet  of  Green-Point  was  suddenly  invaded  by  a  large 
party  of  men  and  boys,  bears  and  dogs,  who  had  come  over  from 


HIST0R1   OF  BROOKL1  V  |  1., 

New  York,  determined  to  have  ;i  regular  bear  fight  for  their  own 
diversion  and  the  instruction  of  this  old  fashioned  community. 
The  theatre  selected  tor  their  sport  was  an  old  barn  in  the  rear  of 

the  lot  now  occupied  by  David  Morris  in  India  street,  and  thai 
gentleman,  undertaking  to  order  them  off  the  premises,  wb 
upon  by  the  dogs,  and  forced  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  The  stakes 
were  finally  driven  down,  and  the  bear  fight  enjoyed,  in  the  field 
near  the  late  residence  of  Harvey  E.  Talmadge  in  Eagle  street. 
And  the  occasion  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  squirt-  and 
the  constable,  with  their  staves  of  office,  to  see  fair  play. 

Education  found  a  pioneer  in  Green-Point  in  Mrs.  Masquerier, 
who,  in  1843,  first  collected  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  little 
sprigs  of  humanity  into  her  house,  and  taught  their  young  idea- 
how  to  shoot.  This  kind  hearted  woman's  ministrations  were 
finally  supplanted,  by  the  public  school  system;  and  in  1846,  8 
school-house  was  erected  on  the  hill  east  of  Union  avenue  between 
Java  and  Kent  streets,  and  which  was  first  presided  over  by  Mr. 
B.  R.  Davis.  This  was  the  commencement  of  No.  22,  which  will 
be  spoken  of  elsewhere  and  more  at  length. 

Green-Point,  also,  has  had  its  literary  and  social  organizations, 
the  most  notable  of  which  was  the  Social,  Literary  and  Christian 
Union  of  the  Reformed  Butch  Church  of  Green-Point,  which  flourished 
about  the  year  1856.  It  was  popularly  known  as  the  Dutch 
Baby,  and  was  a  lively  infant  while  it  lived.  The  Sewanhab/  Clnh, 
of  the  present  day,  is  an  organization  which  has  not  neglected  its 
opportunities  of  social  enjoyment,  or  of  generous  beneficence  to 
the  needy  and  distressed. 

In  1850,  a  ship  yard  was  established  by  Mr.  Eckford  Wehh 
(since  Webb  &  Bell) ;  and  the  first  vessel  constructed  by  them  was 
a  small -steamer  called  the  Honda,  which  was  made  to  ply  upon 
the  Magdalena  river  of  South  America.  Since  that  day,  the 
talented  builder  has  constructed  many  a  vessel  which  has  borne 
his  reputation  to  various  quarters  of  the  globe.  Other  ship  yunU 
were  established,  until  ten  or  twelve  were  at  one  time  in  active 
operation,  turning  out  every  variety  of  craft,  from  the  humble 
skiff  to  the  largest  wood  and  iron  steamers. 

In  September,  1852,  the  Francis'  Metallic  Life  Boat  Company 


416  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  $250,000,  and  erected  a  large 
and  commodious  factory.  They  had  a  successful  career,  until  the 
repeal-,  by  congress,  of  that  section  of  the  steam  boat  law,  respect- 
ing life-boats,  when  the  demand  fell  off,  and  so  did  the  company. 

Returning,  however,  from  our  digressive  remarks  concerning  the 
first  outcroppings  of  civilization,  social,  political,  commercial, 
educational  and  religious,  which  followed  Mr.  Bliss's  creation  of  a" 
turnpike  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  may  state 
that  having  thus  placed  Green-Point  en  rapjwrt  with  Williams- 
burgh  and  Bushwick,  he  next  turned  his  attention  to  ferry 
accommodations.  Previously  all  water  communication  with 
the  city  had  been  by  means  of  skiffs,  at  a  charge  of  four  cents  per 
passenger,  but  Mr.  Bliss  finally  succeeded,  after  three  years 
endeavor,  in  securing  from  the  corporation  of  New  York  a  lease 
dated  in  1850.  The  ferry  was  established  in  1852,  and  was  soon 
after  transferred  to  the  hands  of  Mr.  Shepard  Knapp,  who  still 
retains  it  at  its  original  location  from  the  foot  of  Green-Point 
avenue  to  the  foot  of  Tenth  street,  New  York.  Having  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  Queens  county,  then  called  Dutch  Kils, 
but  now  named  Blissville,  in  his  honor,  Mr.  Bliss  next  set  on  foot 
the  Green-Point  and  Flushing  Plank  Road  from  the  ferry,  which 
road  was  intended  to  be  united  with  the  Astoria  and  Flushing 
railroad,  about  half  a  mile  this  side  of  the  latter  place.  In  con- 
sequence, however,  of  the  opposition  of  some  Dutch  farmers  along 
the  proposed  route,  the  road  was  never  finished  according  to  the 
original  design,  but  turned  off  and  united  with  the  Williamsburgh 
and  Newtown  road  at  the  end  of  Calvary  Cemetery.  Its  cost  was 
over  §60,000  (including  the  bridge),  and  it  was  first  traveled 
in  the  summer  of  1854.  In  1853  the  Green-Point  Gas  Light 
Company  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  $40,000;  and  the 
patronage,  at  the  outset,  of  twenty-six  customers!  Mr.  Bliss  co- 
operated actively  with  the  company  in  getting  their  works  erected ; 
and,  in  1856,  was  chosen  alderman  (under  the  consolidation)  for 
the  purpose  of  furthering  this  and  other  matters  of  local  interest 
in  Green-Point,  and  held  this  position  during  1857  and  '58. 

Previously  to  1855,  those  who  did  not  choose  to  walk  to  their 
homes  on  the  point,  from  the  Williamsburgh  bridge,  entrusted 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  417 

themselves  to  the  mercies  of  an  old  omnibus,  and  generally  found 
themselves,  when  the  ruts  were  bad  (as  ilu-y  geniM-ally  were)  pretty 
well  shaken  up  before  they  reached  their  own  doors.  So,  when 
the  City  Railroad  Company  ran  their  cars  through  Williamsburgh, 

to  the  bridge  over  Bushwick  creek,  Mr.  Bliss  coaxed  them  along, 

step  by  step,  until  he  got  them  over  said  bridge  :  and,  now  ( treen- 
Point  shares  the  full  measure  of  benefit  derived  from  a  rapid,  cheap, 
and  easy  communication  with  other  parts  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

"  Within  the  last  two  or  three  years,"  says  a  writer  in  the 
Brooklyn  Tunes,  of  December  1, 1868,  "  manufacturing  interests  of 
considerable  magnitude  have  sprung  up  in  this  suburban  locality, 
and  several  large  and  substantial  buildings  for  manufacturing 
purposes  are  now  in  course  of  completion.  Some  of  these  employ 
several  hundred  hands,  thus  enabling  many  to  avail  themselves  of 
their  labor,  their  sole  capital,  in  providing  the  comforts  of  a  home 
and  the  means  of  happiness. 

"  The  large  accession  of  productive  industry,  and  the  superior 
facilities  for  carrying  on  business  in  this  favored  locality,  have 
naturally  and  rapidly  increased  the  population  of  the  ward,  and  a 
still  further  demand  for  houses  and  homes  is  the  result.  But  the 
enterprise  of  our  citizens  is  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  from 
seventy -five  to  one  hundred  houses,  many  of  them  first-class,  and 
all  good,  are  now  being  constructed,  and  will  be  ready  for  occupa- 
tion when  the  early  spring  returns.  And  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  so  many  seek  this  section.  Its  natural  advantages  and  attrac- 
tions account  for  it.  It  has  churches  and  public  schools,  commo- 
dious and  convenient,  with  cheaper  rents,  better  air,  and  plenty  of 
Ridgewood  water.  It  has  two  rail  roads  and  two  ferries,  to  facili- 
tate travel ;  and  a  discount  and  a  savings  bank,  for  the  accommo- 
dation and  security  of  all  in  their  money  transactions. 

"  The  Green-Point  Savings  Bank  was  chartered  at  the  last  session 
of  the  legislature.  The  want  of  an  institution  of  this  kind  has 
been  felt  here  for  a  long  time.  The  population  of  the  ward,  which 
now  numbers  some  25,000,  with  the  growing  and  thriving  vicinities 
of  Blissville  and  Hunter's  Point  east  and  north  of  us,  embraces  a 
population  of  nearly  an  equal  number,  and  is  a  guaranty  at  once  of 
the  prosperity  and  success  of  a  savings  bank." 

53 


418  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  CONSOLIDATED  CITY  OF  BROOKLYN. 
(Jan.  1st,  1855— Jan.  1st,  1869). 

1855.  January  1st.  Under  the  charter  granted  by  the  legisla- 
ture, on  the  17th  of  April,  1854,  providing  for  the  consolidation  of 
the  cities  of  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburgh  and  the  township  of 
Bushwick,  BROOKLYN"  entered  upon  anewphase  of  its  civic  exist- 
ence. By  a  singular  coincidence,  George  Hall,  who  had  been  the 
first  mayor  of  the  original  city  of  Brooklyn,  was  the  first  mayor 
of  the  consolidated  city ;  and,  from  his  inaugural  address  to  the 
common  council  of  the  new  municipality,  we  extract  the  following 
succinct  comparison  between  its  past  and  present  : 

"  It  is  now  twenty-one  years,"  says  Mr.  Hall,  "  since  I  was  called  by  the 
common  council  to  preside  over  the  affairs  of  the  late  city  of  Brooklyn, 
then  first  ushered  into  existence.  The  population  of  the  city,  at  that  time, 
consisted  of  about  20,000  persons  residing  for  the  most  part  within  the  dis- 
tance of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Fulton  Ferry.  Beyond  this 
limit,  no  streets  of  any  consequence  were  laid  out,  and  the  ground  was 
chiefly  occupied  for  agricultural  purposes.  The  shores,  throughout  nearly 
their  whole  extent,  were  in  their  natural  condition,  washed  by  the  East  river 
and  the  bay.  There  were  two  ferries  by  which  communication  was  had  with 
the  city  of  New  York,  ceasing  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  There  were, 
within  the  city,  two  banks,  two  insurance  companies,  one  savings  bank, 
fifteen  churches,  and  three  public  schools.  Two  newspapers  were  published 
in  it,  both  of  which  were  of  weekly  issue.  Of  commerce  and  manufactures 
it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  any,  its  business  consisting  chiefly  of  that  which 
was  requisite  for  supplying  the  wants  of  its  inhabitants.  Sixteen  of  its 
streets  were  lighted  with  public  lamps,  of  which  number  thirteen  had  been 
supplied  within  the  then  previous  year.  The  assessed  value  of  the  taxable 
property  was  $7,829,684,  of  which  $6,457,084  consisted  of  real  estate,  and 
$1,372,600  of  personal  property. 

"  Williamsburgh  was  incorporated  as  a  village  in  1827.  Its  growth  was 
comparatively  slow  until  after  the  year  1840.     At  the  taking  of  the  census 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  H'.' 

in  that  year,  it  was  found  to  contain  5,094  inhabitants,  and  since  that  time 
it  has  advanced  with  almost  anparalleled  rapidity,  having  attained  a  popula- 
tion of  30,780,  in  1850.     It  was  chartered  as  a  city  in  1851. 

"Within  the  comparatively  >hort  period  of  twenty-one  year.-,  what 
ohangea  have  taken  place.     Bushwick   from  a  thinly  Bettled  township  has 

advauced  with  rapid  strides,  and  yesterday  contained  within  it-  Limit*  two 
large  villages,  together  numbering  a  population  of  about  7,00<t  persons. 
Williarusburgh,  from  a  hamlet  became  a  city  with  about  50.0(10  inhabitants. 
Brooklyn,  judging  from  its  past  increase,  yesterday  contained  a  population 
of  about  145,000  persons,  and  on  this  day  the  three  places  consolidated  into 
one  municipal  corporation,  takes  its  stand  as  the  third  city  in  the  empire 
state,  with  an  aggregate  population  of  about  200,000  inhabitants. 

'•The  superficial  extent  of  area  included  within  the  city  limits  is  about 
16,000  acres  [or  25  square  miles].  The  extent  in  length  of  the  city,  along 
the  water  front  is  8]  miles,  along  the  inland  bounds  13?.  miles,  and  between 
the  two  most  distant  points  in  a  straight  line  7^  miles,  and  its  greatest  width 
5  miles.  Within  these  limits  516  streets  have  been  opened  for  public  use,' 
old  roads  have  been  discontinued  and  closed,  hills  have  been  levelled,  valleys 
and  low  lands  filled  up,  old  landmarks  have  disappeared,  and  almost  the 
whole  surface  of  the  city  has  been  completely  changed.  There  are  in  the 
old  city  of  Brooklyu  19.576  buildings,  of  which  13.582  are  occupied  solely 
as  dwellings,  and  3.225  as  stores  and  dwellings.  I  have  been  unable  to 
ascertain  the  number  in  Williauisburgh  and  Bushwick.  Of  nearly  700 
streets  surveyed  and  laid  out  on  the  Commissioner's  map,  516  were  opened. 
Thirty  miles  of  rail  road  track,  exclusive  of  those  of  the  Long  Island  rail 
road  companies,  have  been  laid,  and  are  in  use  upon  the  streets  of  the  city. 
Besides  there  are  12  lines  of  stages,  or  omnibusses.  The  city,  to  a  great 
extent,  is  lighted  by  gas,  supplied  by  the  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburgh  Gas 
Light  Company,  who  have  laid  and  are  using  95  miles  of  pipes  along  the 
streets.  The  streets  are  supplied  and  lighted  with  public  lamps,  numbering 
in  the  aggregate  3,766.  of  which  2.6' >9  are  gas  lamps.  Thirteen  sewers 
have  been  constructed,  extending  in  length  five  miles.  There  are  157 
public  cisterns  and  547  wells  and  pumps.  There  are  two  public  park.-,  one 
of  which  will  rival  in  magnificence,  as  respects  its  natural  position  and  com- 
manding prospect,  those  of  any  other  city  in  the  Union."  Reference  is  then 
made  to  Greenwood  and  Evergreen  cemeteries;  to  113  churches  1  within  the 

'One  hundred  and  forty-two  church  societies,  most  of  them  having  edifices  of  their 
own.  and  many  of  which  were  large  and  substantially  built  structures,  and  elegantly 
finished. 


420  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

city;  to  27  public  schools,  containing  317 teachers,  and  about  30,500 scholars, 
to  the  Packer  Collegiate  Institute,  the  numerous  private  schools,  the  Brook- 
lyn City  Hospital,  the  Orphan  Asylums,  the  Old  Ladies'  Home,  Industrial 
schools,  dispensaries,  etc.;  also,  to  nine  banks,  four  savings  institutions,  eight 
insurance  companies,  five  daily  and  two  weekly  papers,  etc.  The  assessed 
value  of  taxable  property,  during  the  previous  year  is  thus  estimated  : 

In  Brooklyn,  of  real  estate,  -----  $64,665,117 
"  "  personal  property,         -  8,184,881 

Williamsburgh,  of  real  estate,  -----  11,242,664 
"  "  personal  property,     -  11,614,559 

Bushwick,  of  real  estate,     ------  3,106,864 

"       "  personal  property,     -----  109,000 

Making  the  aggregate  in  the  whole  city,      -       -       -      $88,923,085 

Thirteen  ferries,  keeping  up  a  constant  communication  with  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  the  almost  continuous  line  of  wharves  between  Green-Point  and 
Red  Hook,  as  well  as  the  commercial  facilities  furnished  by  the  Atlantic 
docks,  and  the  extensive  ship  building  at  G-reen-Point,  were  also  alluded  to. 
The  police  of  the  new  city,  under  Chief  John  S.  Folk,  comprised  seven 
districts,  with  an  aggregate  of  274  men;  the  8th,  9th  and  18th  wards  not 
being  included,  they  having  a  special  police  at  their  own  expense.  The 
fire  department  was,  also,  on  a  good  footing,  the  western  district  having  20 
engines,  7  hose-carts  and  4  hook  and  ladder  companies ;  the  eastern  having 
10  engines,  4  hose-carts,  3  hook  and  ladder,  and  1  bucket  companies. 

The  new  city  was  divided  into  eighteen  wards,  to  which  a  nine- 
teenth was  soon  after  added. 

Yet,  although  Brooklyn  had  thus,  at  a  single  bound,  jumped 
from  the  seventh  to  the  third  position  among  the  cities  of  the 
American  Union,  it  could  by  no  means  claim  the  same  relative 
position  in  point  of  wealth,  business  or  commercial  importance ; 
being  outranked,  in  these  respects,  by  several  cities  of  less  popu- 
lation. Nor  had  it  risen  to  its  eminence  by  virtue  of  its  own 
inherent  vigor  and  enterprise.  Candor  certainly  compels  the 
acknowledgment  that  it  was  chiefly  attributable  to  the  overflowing 
prosperity  and  greatness  of  its  giant  neighbor,  New  York.  Many 
thousands  of  its  counted  population  were  scarcely  more  than  semi- 
denizens.  They  were  the  merchant  princes,  and  master  artisans 
doing  business  in  the  metropolis,  employing  other  thousands  as 


EIST0R1  OP  BROOKL1  \  .;•_>] 

clerks,  accountants, journeymen  and  apprentices,  in  numerous  and 
varied  capacities,  and  who  resided  here.     Thus,  Brooklyn  held  the 

anomalous  position  of  out-numbering,  at  night,  its  day  population 
by  tens  of  thousand-.  And,  although  this  Lb  still  the  case,  \.i 
Brooklyn's  position,  as  regards  business,  commerce  and  influence 

30  rapidly  increased,  within  the  past  six  year-  (1868-,69),  and 
is  developing  with   sueh  wonderful  promise,  that   the  burden  of 

reproach  that  she  is  ordy  a  sleeping  apartment  for  New  Fork,  is 
undeniably  passing  away. 

Mayor  Hall  had  been  elected  mainly  on  a  temperance  and 
sabbath  observance  platform,  and  on  the  14th,  his  proclamation 
in  regard  to  the  closing  of  stores,  etc.,  on  the  sabbath,  went  into 
effect,  and  was  very  generally  observed. 

On  the  31st,  the  new  building  of  the  Brooklyn  City  Hospital  wm 
first  opened  to  the  inspection  of  the  public. 

February  12th.  A  public  meeting  was  held  at  the  Supreme 
Court  room,  Mayor  Hall  presiding,  for  the  purpose  of  devising 
means  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  From  three  to  four  thousand 
dollars  were  collected  for  the  purpose. 

21st.  The  first  meeting  of  the  new  Board  of  Education  of  the 
consolidated  city  was  held,  and  officers  elected. 

March  28th.  The  Fire  Department  of  the  City  of  Brooklyn  was 
incorporated  by  act  of  legislature. 

April  12th.  The  Nassau  Water  Company  was  incorporated  by 
legislative  enactment;  was  at  once  organized  and  promptly 
petitioned  the  common  council  to  authorize  a  subscription  to  its 
capital  stock,  to  the  amount  allowed  by  its  act  of  incorporation. 

On  the  same  date  an  act  was  passed  defining  the  limits  of 
the  fire  district  of  the  Western  district. 

July.  The  Brooklyn  Central  Dispensary  was  instituted,  the 
Hard  Horticultural  and  Botanical  Garden  incorporated,  and  the 
Brooklyn  Sunday  School  Union  reorganized. 

Nov.  15th.  The  common  council  passed  a  resolution,  by  27  to 
7  votes,  authorizing  a  subscription  of  SI, 000, 000  to  the  stock  of  the 
Xassau  Water  Company,  on  condition  of  the  two  million  capital 
stock  beiug  paid  up.  In  June,  they  voted  to  increase  the  amount 
to  81,300,000. 


422  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Mayor  Hall's  address  to  the  common  council,  in  January,  1856,, 
states  that  during  the  year  1855,  there  had  been  1,034  new  build- 
ings erected,  and  518  then  in  course  of  erection  ;  about  fourteen 
miles  of  new  streets  opened,  and  9  miles  graded  and  paved ;  426 
new  gas  lamps  and  posts  set,  16  public  cisterns,  etc.,  etc. 

1856.  July  31st.  Operations  upon  the  Nassau  Water  Works 
were  formally  commenced  by  the  breaking  of  the  ground  for  a 
reservoir,  on  what  is  now  known  as  Reservoir  hill,  on  Flatbush 
avenue,  and  within  the  present  Prospect  park.  The  appearance 
of  the  place,  at  that  time,  is  described,  by  the  Eagle  reporter,  as 
"  one  of  the  finest  and  most  appropriate  that  could  be  conceived. 
A  large  natural  basin  is  on  the  summit  of  a  hill  that  looks  as  if 
nature's  hand  had  scooped  it  out,  and  placed  it  at  that  high  altitude 
to  be  the  agent  for  carrying  down  the  pure,  cool  and  refreshing 
beverage  to  a  feverish  and  thirsty  city.  It  commands  an  extensive 
view  of  a  large  part  of  the  island,  and  will  be  a  point  which 
stranger  and  citizen  will  hereafter  visit  with  pleasure  and  admira- 
tion." On  a  commanding  point  of  this  eminence,  and  around  a 
platform  covered  with  an  awning  of  American  flags,  assembled  the 
common  council  of  the  city,  the  Water  Company,  and  a  number  of 
prominent  citizens,  in  all  some  1,000  persons,  who  had  been 
brought  to  the  spot,  from  the  City  Hall,  in  a  long  procession  of 
omnibusses  and  carriages.  The  exercises  were  opened  with  prayer, 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy,  after  which  Mr.  John  H.  Prentice, 
president  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  gave  a  brief  history  of  the 
inception  and  progress  of  the  Nassau  Water  Company's  operations 
in  securing  a  supply  of  water  .for  Brooklyn ;  and  concluded  by 
introducing  the  Hon.  Oeorge  Hall,  mayor  of  the  city ;  who,  after 
a  few  pertinent  remarks,  proceeded  to  break  ground  by  digging  a 
spade  full  of  earth  amid  the  cheers  of  the  multitude.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Kennedy,  the  Hon.  N.  B.  Morse  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune 
then  delivered  speeches  replete  with  eloquence,  cordiality  and 
humor.  After  which  the  company  proceeded  to  a  booth  adjoin- 
ing, where  a  collation  had  been  spread,  and  after  duly  satisfying 
the  inner  man,  reentered  the  stages  and  returned  home. 

This  year  was  signalized  by  the  appearance  of  yellow  fevery  on 
Long  Island. 


HISTOBT    OF  BBOOKL1  V 

Dr.  Elisha  Harris,  physician  to  the  Marine  Eospital,  a1  Btaten 

Island,  reported  a  case,  in  April,  1  *.">»;,  from  a  <|narantined  vi 
No  other  case  was  reported,  in  or  around  New  5Tork,  until  the 
arrival  of  the  Julia  M.  Halleck,  from  St.  Iago  de  Cuba,  on  the 
18th  of  June,  with  three  cases.  On  the  21st  of  the  same  month 
the  ship  Jane  II.  Gliddon,  arrived  from  Havana,  with  five  cases  on 
board;  and,  immediately  after,  three  more  were  taken  while  at 
quarantine  —  strongly  marked  cases.  These  vessels  were  un- 
loaded and  their  cargoes  exposed  to  the  air,  the  ships  fumigated, 
cleaned  and  aired,  and  twenty  of  the  stevedores  and  lightermen 
engaged  in  unloading  them  contracted  the  fever,  no  case  having  yet 
occurred  in  New  York  or  on  Long  Island.  On  the  2d  of  July, 
the  Silias  arrived  and  sent  one  case  to  the  Marine  Hospital;  the  Lady 
Franklin  sent  eight,  and  the  Eliza  Jane  one.  From  this  date  to  the 
29th  of  July,  many  vessels  arrived,  more  or  less  of  them  from 
Southern  ports,  with  cases  on  board  either  at  the  time  of  arrival 
or  shortly  after.  Vessels  were  detained  in  such  numbers,  at 
quarantine,  that  the  Narrows  at  this  point  was  nearly  filled, 
almost  from  shore  to  shore.  It  may  here  be  stated  that  the  ship 
Crawford,  from  Porto  Rico,  which  had  arrived  on  the  1st  of  July 
(the  day  before  the  Lady  Franklin,  Eliza  Jane  and  Silias),  was  per- 
mitted, after  due  quarantine  (no  cases  occurring),  to  come  up  to  N  ew 
York.  Near  the  middle  of  July  she  discharged  her  cargo ;  soon 
after  this,  a  man,  who  had  been  engaged  unloading  her  was  taken 
with  yellow  fever.  A  few  days  after,  four  others,  who  had  also 
been  engaged  on  her,  were  taken.  Her  mate,  Stephen  Drew,  was 
engaged  as  mate  by  Capt.  Davis,  of  the  bark  Sidon,  and  stowed 
his  luggage,  which  he  took  from  the  Crawford,  under  Capt.  Davis's 
bunk.  Four  days  after,  Capt.  Davis  took  the  fever  and  died :  and, 
three  days  after  the  captain  was  taken,  Drew  sickened  and  died. 
Several  (34)  cases  now  occurred  in  New  York,  nearly  all  of  whom 
had  been  at  work  at,  or  near  pier  No.  10.  On  the  9th  of  J  aly,  the 
alluvial  plain  at  Fort  Hamilton  and  Bay  Ridge  waa  Bnhjected  to 
an  unusually  heavy  rain  (1.80  inches),  which,  from  the  conforma- 
tion of  the  soil,  could  not  run  off.  Succeeding  this,  followed  a 
droughtand  high  temperature,  the  mean  of  which  recorded  at  7,  2, 
and  9  o'clock  daily,  82°  58'  and  ranging  at  99° ;  on  27th,  the 


424  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

thermometer,  at  2  o'clock,  was  95°  ;  28th,  97° ;  on  the  29th  it 
fell  to  82° ;  and,  on  this  day  the  first  case  occurred  on  Long  Island. 

The  mean  of  the  hygrometer  for  the  same  period  was  75°  80' ; 
and,  for  the  twenty  days,  from  the  9th  to  the  29th  inclusive,  there 
had  been  but  .01  rain.  On  the  29th,  it  rained,  in  the  night,  .03 
inches.  During  this  period  the  wind  at  this  locality  ranged  S.W., 
to  the  K  W. ;  from  the  21st  to  the  29th,  from  the  S.  W.  only. 
These  facts  serve  to  indicate  an  atmosphere  here  peculiarly  ripe 
for  the  development  of  disease,  especially  of  miasmatic  fevers. 
It  must  be  remembered,  also,  that  there  were  at  this  time  nearly 
150  vessels  lying  at  anchor  at  the  quarantine,  many  of  which  were 
infected,  and  very  near  the  Long  Island  shore.  And,  when  we 
consider  that  nearly  all  the  cases  on  the  island  occurred  along  the 
shore,  directly  opposite  to  these  vessels ;  also,  that  nearly  every 
one  of  the  first  victims  had  either  been  engaged  upon,  or  had 
handled  articles  direct  from  these  vessels,  we  may  reasonably 
assume,  1st,  that  the  contagion  was  imported ;  2dly,  that  the  first 
victims  were  infected  by  contact  with  the  vessels  or  their  con- 
tents, and  3dly,  that  the  direction  of  the  wind  and  the  condition 
of  the  atmosphere  were  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  development 
and  extension  of  the  disease.1 

The  fever  first  made  its  appearance  upon  Long  Island  near 
Forty-ninth  street,  on  the  shore  of  the  bay ;  the  patient  being  a 
laborer  on  the  Hunt  farm,  who  sickened  on  the  13th  and  died  on 
the  19th  of  July.  Following  this  were  the  cases  of  Judge  Wm. 
Eockwell,  residing  near  the  water,  midway  between  Forty-ninth 
street  and  Fort  Hamilton,  who  died  on  the  25th ;  Alderman 
Bergen  who  died  on  the  30th,  and  his  sister  on  the  31st.  The 
Bergens  resided  between  Rockwell's  and  Forty-ninth  street,  close 
to  the  shore.  Meanwhile,  there  had  been  some  isolated  cases  in 
Brooklyn,  of  persons  who  had  been  engaged  upon  or  in  contact 
with  the  infected  vessels  or  cargoes;  and,  on  July  22d,  occurred 
in  Conover  street  the  first  acknowledged  death  from  yellow  fever  in 

1 "  Yet,"  says  Dr.  J.  B.  Jones,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  foregoing  facts,  "  I  am 
unwilling  to  favor  the  idea  that  the  wind  had  much  to  do  with  the  spreading  of 
disease ;  for,  I  find,  by  the  summing  up  of  one  of  my  tables,  that  the  disease  made 
headway  against  a  strong  wind." 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  X. 

the  city.  We  say  acknowledged,  because  from  the  first,  there  was 
a  determination  on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  as  well  as  of  the 
medical  profession,  to  avoid,  if  possible,  any  public  panic,  and, 
with  this  intent,  they  practically  ignored,  as  long  as  they  could, 

the  existence  of  the  yellow  fever,  by  giving  it  other  Less  alarming 
appellations,  such  as  ship  fever,  bilious  remittent  fever,  etc.. 
Even  after  the  excellent  mayor,  George  Hall,  and  Dr.  Matthew 
Wendall,  the  health  officer  of  the  city,  could  no  longer  shut 
their  eyes  to  the  fact,  which  they  had  hitherto  so  obstinately  de- 
nied, that  it  was  the  yellow  fever;  they  continued,  by  agreement 
between  themselves,  to  make  returns  of  such  deaths  under  the 
above  mentioned  names ;  and  their  action,  dictated  no  doubt  by 
the  purest  desire  for  the  public  good,  was  imitated  by  private 
medical  practitioners,  so  that  the  returns  of  mortality  for  this 
period,  judged  by  the  strict  laws  of  truth,  are  of  little  value  to  the 
sanitary  statistician.  On  August  27th,  we  learn  that  up  to  the 
present  time,  the  yellow  fever  had  been  confined  to  the  neighbor- 
hood where  it  originally  appeared,  viz :  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Hamilton.  In  the  exceptional  cases  which  occurred  in  this  locality, 
the  disease  had  been  contracted  either  at  Fort  H,  or  in  holding 
communication  with  the  infected  vessels.  Several  lightermen, 
residing  in  different  parts  of  Brooklyn,  who  had  been  engaged  in 
removing  the  cargoes  of  these  vessels,  died  of  the  disease ;  but  no 
new  case  occurred  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  houses,  nor  even 
in  the  houses  where  they  resided.  On  the  removal  of  the  ship 
from  Gravesend  bay,  the  disease  abated  and  for  awhile  it  was 
believed  to  be  dying  out.  Infected  vessels,  recently  arrived,  were. 
again  placed  at  quarantine  at  the  neck  of  the  Narrows,  at  its  very 
narrowest  part,  as  near  Fort  Hamilton  as  the  others  were.  By 
this  time,  scarcely  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  out  of  live 
hundred  residents  of  the  Fort  Hamilton  neighborhood,  remained  : 
the  place  was  deserted,  save  by  the  few  whom  humanity,  duty  or 
necessity  kept  at  their  posts.  Mayor  Hall,  with  that  fearless  disre- 
gard of  danger  and  that  high  sense  of  personal  responsibility  which 
so  highly  distinguished  him,  constantly  visited  the  infected  dis- 
trict, inspecting  the  extemporized  hospitals,  and  using  every  means, 
official  and  personal,  of  warding  off  the  disease  from  the  city.     In 

54 


426  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

these  endeavors  he  was  nobly  seconded  by  Mr.  Geo.  E.  Cammeyer, 
and  others.  On  September  1st,  Mayor  Hall  issued  a  bulletin  to 
the  citizens,  from  which  we  learn  that  "  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
city  (the  lower  end  of  the  Eighth  ward)  is  within  the  infected  dis- 
trict. Outside  of  this  district,  no  cases  whatever  have  occurred 
which  are  not  directly  traceable  to  infection  taken  within  the 
district.  Since  July  6th,  to  August  31st,  inclusive,  forty-nine 
deaths  have  occurred  within  the  city  caused  by  bilious  fever  of 
different  grades,  namely;  bilious  fever,  10;  bilious  congestive 
fever,  10;  bilious  typhoid  fever.  5;  congestive  fever,  8;  yellow 
fever,  16  ;  of  which  the  majority  were  in  the  Eighth  ward.  The 
remainder,  from  different  localities,  have  been  persons  who  have 
been  employed  as  lightermen  or  others  connected  with  the  break- 
ing up  and  discharging  the  cargoes  of  infected  vessels ;  or,  of 
persons  who,  up  to  the  time  of  taking  the  disease,  have  resided 
within  the  infected  district.  The  fever  has  in  no  case  been  com- 
municated, by  contagion,  from  these  persons,  and  it  is  the  unani- 
mous opinion  of  all  physicians,  with  whom  I  have  conversed  upon 
the  subject  that  it  is  not  communicable  by  contagion  outside  of 
the  infected  district. 

The  total  of  deaths  from  yellow  fever  in  Kings  county,  from  July 
22d,  to  August  31st,  was  74,  of  which  39  were  in  Brooklyn.1  The 
brunt  of  the  epidemic,  however,  fell  upon  the  town  of  New 
Utrecht,  where,  also,  an  irreparable  loss  was  occasioned  by  the 
deaths  of  Drs.  James  E.  Dubois  and  John  Ludlow  Crane,  who 
contracted  the  disease  in  the  performance  of  their  professional 
duties  amidst  that  plague-stricken  community. 

From  September  1st,  the  disease  appeared  to  decline  until 
finally  checked  by  the  approach  of  cold  weather. 

1857.  January  1st.  At  the  Packer  Institute,  a  presentation  was 
made  by  some  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  of  a  house 
and  lot  to  Mayor  George  Hall,  and  of  a  service  of  plate  to  Mr. 
John  E.  Cammeyer,  in  recognition  of  their  self-denying  and  noble 

1  During  the  same  season  there  occurred  in  the  city,  34  cases  of  bilious  fever ;  con- 
gestive fever,  14 ;  congestive  bilious,  12  ;  typhoid  46  ;  typhus  30,  and  yellow  fever, 
29.  Some  of  these  might  undoubtedly,  if  the  truth  was  known,  have  been  more 
pror>erfy  classed  under  the  latter  head. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  427 

personal  labors  among  the  sick  and  dying  daring  the  wllow  fever 
epidemic  of  the  previous  summer. 
With   this  year  commenced  the    mayoralty  oi*  Mr.  Samuel  8, 

Poua  IJ. 

Samuel  S.  Powell,  a  descendant  from  some  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Long  Island,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  16th  day  of  February, 
1815;  and  the  locality  where  he  first  saw  the  light  (Water,  near  Fletcher 
street),  presents  a  curious  illustration  of  the  enormous  growth  of  that  city 
within  the  space  of  half  a  century,  being  at  that  time  occupied  chiefly  by 
jobbers  in  dry  goods,  nearly  all  of  whom  resided  in  apartments  over  their 
stores.  Young  Powell  enjoyed  the  usual  advantages  of  school  education  until 
the  age  of  thirteen,  when  family  reverses  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to 
seek  his  own  livelihood.  After  serving  in  a  store  in  New  York  for  some 
time,  he  came  to  Brooklyn,  in  1828,  and  engaged  with  S.  B.  Stilwell.  at 
that  time,  the  leading  tailor  and  clothier  of  the  then  village;  and,  after 
being  with  Mr.  Stilwell  for  about  four  years,  commenced  a  business  on  his 
own  account,  which  he  successfully  pursues  at  the  present  time.  Mr. 
Powell  having  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  discussion  of  politics  and 
public  measures  of  his  day,  was  elected,  in  1845,  by  the  democracy  of  the 
Second  ward,  as  their  representative  in  the  common  council,  where  he  served 
one  term,  declining  a  renomination.  He  held  no  other  office  until  1857, 
when  he  was  chosen  mayor;  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  was 
reelected. 

During  Mayor  Powell's  administration,  the  much  debated  question  as  to 
the  advisability  of  running  the  street  rail  road  cars  on  the  sabbath,  was  settled 
affirmatively,  after  a  fierce  contest.  The  measure  was  recommended  in  an 
official  message  from  Mr.  Powell  to  the  Common  Council,  and  met  with 
much  opposition,  but,  after  a  full  discussion  of  the  whole  subject,  the  cars 
were  set  in  motion,  and  so  continue  to  the  present  time,  greatly  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people.  When  the  war  of  secession 
commenced,  Mayor  Powell  actively  sustained  the  government  in  all  measures 
for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  ;  and,  although  a  democrat,  and  in  no  way 
identified  with  the  dominant  party,  he  aided  to  the  full  extent  of  his  powers, 
the  enlistment  of  men,  and  by  open  speech  justified  all  measures  necessary 
to  destroy  the  power  of  rebellion  and  to  restore  the  Union.  Quiet  and 
unobtrusive  in  his  manner  and  habits,  there  is  no  citizen  of  Brooklyn  who 
possesses  a  more  intelligent  knowledge  of  the  city's  history,  its  growth,  and 
its  people;  and  as  director  in  the  Central  Bank,  the  Brooklyn  Life  Insurance 
Company,  the  Citizens'  Gas  Light  Company,  and  an  original  director  of  the 


428  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Nassau  and  Lafayette  Insurance  Companies,  he  has  been  prominently  identi- 
fied with  its  financial  interests. 

February  11th.  Messrs.  John  H.  Prentice,  J.  Carson  Brevoort, 
William  Wall,  Nicholas  WyckofF,  Nathaniel  Briggs,  Thomas 
Sullivan  and  Conklin  Brush,  all  (except  the  latter  who  succeeded 
Mr.  Daniel  Yan  Yoorhies,  resigned),  formerly  directors  of  the 
Nassau  Water  Company,  were  appointed  a  Board  of  Water  Com- 
missioners, under  the  act  of  legislature,  of  this  date,  vesting  the 
city  with  the  contracts,  property  and  interests  of  the  Nassau 
Company. 

February  17th.  By  the  legislative  "  act  for  the  better  regula- 
tion of  the  firemen  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,"  passed  on  this  date, 
Was  created  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  the  Fire  Department  of 
the  Western  district  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn, 

March  20th.  By  an  act  of  legislature,  of  this  date,  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  board  of  three  persons  was  authorized  for  the  purpose 
of  reassessing  the  unpaid  expenses  of  local  improvements  in  the 
former  village  and  city  of  Williamsburgh.  The  commissioners 
appointed  under  the  act  were  Alden  J.  Spooner,  Daniel  B.  Has- 
brouck  and  Thomas  Cotrel. 

April  7th.  By  an  act  to  incorporate  the  fire  department  of  the 
eastern  district  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  the  legally  organized 
firemen  of  the  eastern  district  were  constituted  a  body  corporate 
to  be  known  as  The  Brooklyn  Eastern  District  Fire  Department. 

April  15th.  By  legislative  enactment  the  gentlemen  com- 
prising the  water  board  were  constituted  a  Board  of  Seiver  Com- 
missioners, and  were  empowered  to  devise  and  carry  into  effect  a 
plan  of  drainage  and  sewerage  for  the  whole  city,  upon  a  regular 
system,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  ofTthe  water  and  filth  proper 
to  be  carried  off*  in  sewers,  for  the  health  and  convenience  of  the 
inhabitants. 

April  17th.  By  act  of  legislature^  the  fire  limits  of  the  Eastern 
District  were  established. 

April  23d.  The  present  Metropolitan  Police  law  went  into 
operation,  by  which  the  counties  of  New  York,  Kings,  West- 
chester and  Richmond,  and  the  towns  of  Newtown,  Flushing  and 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN: 

Jamaica,  in  the  county  of  Q  were  constituted  and  terri- 

torially united  for  the  purposes  of  police  government  and  police 
discipline,  to  be  governed  by  a  board  of  commissioners,  of  which 
the  mayor-  of  the  cities  of  Xew  York  and  Brooklyn  are  members 
ex  officio.  The  original  commissioners  were  James  W".  Nye,  •'. 
Bowen,  J.  S.  T.  Stranahan  (of  Brooklyn),  Simeon  Draper  and 
Jacob  Cholwell,  together  with  Fernando  Wood,  mayor  of  X 
York,  and  S.  S.  Powell,  mayor  of  Brooklyn. 

December.  Th  M  mtile  Library  Association  of  Brooklyn  was 
organized. 

1858.  The  two  marked  events  of  the  year  were  the  introdi 

of  the  Ridgewood  water  into  the  city  (it  being  first  let  into  the 
mains,  on  December  4th,  and  first  used  in  extinguishing  a  fire  on 
the  17th  of  the  same  month) ;  aud  the  inception  of  measures,  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Academy  of  Music,  both  of 
which  events  reached  their  culmination  of  success  during  the  next 
year. 

1859.  March  19th.  The  Brooklyn  Academy  of  V  was  in- 
corporated, with  a  capital  of  8150,000,  with  power  to  increase  it  to 
$200,000.  Land  in  Montague  street  was  purchased  for  §41,000, 
plans  agreed  upon  and  work  commenced. 

April  5th.  Samuel  S.  Powell  was  reelected  to  the  mayoralty, 
by  a  majority  of  3,265  (out  of  a  poll  of  21,203)  votes.  John  A. 
Cross  was  his  opponent. 

April  18th.  By  enactment  of  the  legislature,  Messrs.  John 
Greenwood,  J.  Carson  Brevoort,  William  Wall,  James  Humphrey, 
John  A.  Cross,  Nathaniel  Briggs,  Ab'm  J.  Berry,  Samuel  S. 
Powell,  Thomas  H.  Rodman,  Nathan  B.  Morse,  Thomas  G.  Tal- 
madge,  Jesse  C.  Smith,  Daniel  Maujer,  Wm.  H.  Peek  and 
Luther  B.  Wyman,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  select  and 
locate  grounds  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  adjacent  thereto,  for 
parks  and  a  public  parade  ground. 

April  19th.  The  legislature  enacted  a  law  to  provide  for  the 
supply  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  with  water,  by  which  provision 
was  made  for  the  completion  and  gradual  transfer  of  the  water 
works,  etc.,  to  the  charge  of  a  permanent  board  of  water  com- 
missioners, to  be  appointed  by  the  city  authorities,  etc. 


430  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

1859.  During  the  month  of  November,  1858,  the  first  water 
had  been  introduced  into  the  city,  through  the  pipes,  much  to  the 
gratification  of  the  citizens.  Its  use  at  one  or  two  fires,  which 
occurred  at  about  the  same  time,  and  one  of  which,  but  for  its 
powerful  aid,  it  is  certain,  would  have  resulted  in  a  serious  con- 
flagration, afforded  the  strongest  possible  demonstration  of  the 
incalculable  benefits  which  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  would  realize 
from  the  completion  of  this  great  work.  People  began  at  once  to 
introduce  it  into  their  houses  and  places  of  business,  and  it  was 
soon  ascertained  that  all  that  had  been  predicted  as  to  the  purity  of 
the  water,  its  softness  and  pleasantness  of  taste  was  fully  realized. 
It  was  pronounced  superior  even  to  the  famed  Croton,  and  then 
arose  at  once  a  general  demand  for  a  grand  public  demonstration, 
through  which  the  universal  joy  and  satisfaction  pervading  all 
classes  of  our  citizens  might  be  manifested.  Even  the  most  staid 
and  venerable  of  our  citizens  became  aroused  under  the  influence 
of  the  enthusiasm  which  prevailed,  and  a  large  number  of  them, 
on  the  29th  November,  1858,  petitioned  the  common  council  to 
arrange  for  a  celebration  worthy  to  inaugurate  the  great  work. 
After  due  discussion  the  common  council,  on  the  7th  of  March, 
1859,  appropriated  $6,000  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  ex- 
penses of  celebrating  the  introduction  of  water  into  the  city,  on 
the  27th  day  of  April,  1859;  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  occasion.  Invitations 
were  issued  to  the  various  military  and  civic  associations,  fire  de- 
partments and  authorities  of  Brooklyn  and  the  neighboring  cities; 
and  the  committee  met  daily  in  the  City  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  deputations  and  propositions  relative  to  the  celebration, 
and  arranging  the  programme  therefor.  The  hearty  cooperation 
which  they  found  extended  to  them,  by  all  classes  of  our  citizens, 
evinced  how  thoroughly  the  people  were  aroused  on  the  subject, 
and  cheered  them  on  in  their  arduous  labors.  So  general  was 
the  disposition  to  participate  in  the  celebration,  that  it  was 
found  that  the  amount  originally  appropriated  would  not  be 
sufficient  for  the  purpose ;  and,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements,  an  addition  was  made  by  the  common 
council  of  $4,000,  making  the  whole  appropriation  $10,000. 


IllsiollY  OP  BB00KL1  8  j:;| 

April  27.  On  the  day  preceding  the  proposed  celebration,  the 
weather  (which  for  several  day-  had  been  extremely  fine  and  plea- 
sant), assumed  the  most  unpromising  aspect,  and  bynighl  became 

wet  and  cheerless  enough.  The  indications  for  the  morrow  were 
watery  indeed,  and  yet  the  special  committee,  in  view  of  their  ex- 
tensive preparations,  and  the  fact  that  so  many  invited  guests  from 
distant  cities  had  arrived,  feared  to  direct  a  postponement.  When 
the  morning  of  the  27th  arrived,  however,  it  was  found  that  there 
was  no  cessation  of  the  storm,  a  drenching  rain  still  continuing  to 
descend.  Yet  the  flags  and  banners  were  displayed,  the  salutes 
fired,  the  military  under  arms,  the  firemen  parading  to  receive 
their  guests  visiting  from  abroad,  and  the  City  Hall  was  thronged 
with  delegations  from  other  cities,  who  had  accepted  the  invitation 
to  participate  in  the  celebration.  As  it  was  evident,  however, 
that  the  state  of  the  weather  utterly  forbade  the  idea  of  attempt- 
ing to  proceed  with  the  ceremonies,  it  was  resolved,  at  an  extem- 
porized meeting  of  the  common  council,  to  postpone  them  until 
the  next  clay;  and,  most  of  the  visitors  expressing  their  willing- 
ness to  remain  over,  the  committee  at  once  arranged  for  their  en- 
tertainment at  the  expense  of  the  city,  at  such  hotels  as  they  might 
prefer.  The  military  were  dismissed,  and  the  firemen  were  left  to 
entertain  their  brethren  visiting  them  from  abroad.  Refreshments 
were  furnished  in  abundance  at  the  City  Hall,  to  the  visitors,  and 
every  effort  made  to  render  their  stay  as  pleasant  as  possible. 
The  fountain  which  had  been  constructed  in  the  park,  was 
put  in  operation  for  the  first  time ;  and  an  excursion  to  the  pump 
well  was  made  by  a  party  of  some  one  hundred  and  lit'tv,  mem- 
bers of  the  city  governments  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
Hartford,  New  Haven,  and  other  cities,  who  in  company  with 
a  number  of  Brooklyn  officials  and  citizen-,  proceeded  thither  in 
close  carriages.  The  mammoth  engine  was  in  operation,  pump- 
ing up  some  6,000  gallons  per  minute,  and  the  nicety  and  smooth- 
ness of  its  motion,  and  the  evident  vastness  of  power  which  it  pos- 
sessed excited  greatly  the  admiration  of  the  visitors.  The  great 
Ridgewood  reservoir  was  also  examined,  and  received  its  full  share 
of  eulogium.  Having  satisfied  their  curiosity  at  these  points,  the 
party  partook  of  a  collation  provided  for  them,  by  the  committee, 


432  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

at  John  I.  Snediker's,  where  speeches,  toasts  and  congratulations 
abounded ;  and,  late  in  the  afternoon,  the  party  returned  to  the  city, 
having  experienced,  notwithstanding  the  wet  weather,  a  very  good 
time.  At  three  o'clock  p.m.,  the  common  council,  in  special  session, 
resolved  that  all  the  extra  expenses  occasioned  by  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  celebration  should  be  defrayed  by  the  city.  With 
this  assurance  the  firemen  generally  were  satisfied  to  retain  their 
visitors  and  entertain  them  until  the  morrow ;  and,  with  their 
proverbial  indifference  to  exposure,  the  rain  did  not  prevent  them 
and  their  visitors  from  making  quite  a  gala  day  of  it.  In  the 
western  district  a  procession  was  organized,  in  which  nine  Brook- 
lyn companies  escorted  ten  visiting  companies  through  a  portion 
of  the  city ;  their  appearance,  notwithstanding  the  rain,  was 
most  creditable.  The  fire  department  of  the  eastern  district  did 
not  receive  notice  of  the  postponement  until  they  had  assembled 
and  were  ready  for  the  march ;  and,  when  it  did  reach  them,  upon 
consultation,  they  resolved,  storm  or  no  storm,  as  they  were  all 
prepared,  to  have  a  procession  on  their  own  account.  Twenty-eight 
companies,  inclusive  of  visiting  companies,  joined  in  the  proces- 
sion, over  a  long  route ;  the  sidewalks  and  windows  of  houses 
along  the  line  of  march,  being  thronged  with  spectators,  who 
exhibited  marked  manifestations  of  delight.  By  evening,  there 
was  every  indication  of  fair  weather  for  the  next  day,  and  through- 
out the  city  during  the  night  was  to  be  heard  the  busy  note  of 
preparation  for  the  grand  demonstration  of  the  morrow.  Neither 
the  fatigues  of  the  day,  nor  the  dampening  influences  of  the  storm, 
which  had  prevailed,  it  was  quite  evident,  had  chilled  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  people. 

Second  day.  The  early  salutes  of  the  28th  ushered  in  a  morning 
of  as  bright  and  pleasant  promise  as  the  most  exacting  could 
desire.  A  genial  sunshine  and  cool  bracing  air  prevailed  and 
rendered  the  day  eminently  fitting  for  the  purpose  to  which  the 
people  of  Brooklyn  universally  seemed  determined  to  devote  it, 
the  commemoration  of  one  of  the  proudest  events  in  the  history  of 
their  city.  From  every  flagstaff  waved  the  national  banner,  the 
joyful  peals  of  the  bells  throughout  the  city  rang  merrily  upon  the 
ear,  while  the  streets  were  gay  with  the  bright  uniforms  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKL1  N  }.;.; 

military  and  the  firemen,  as  they  hastened,  inspirited  by  the 
stirring  strains  of  martial  music,  to  the  various  places  of  rendez- 
vous  assigned   for  their  assembling.      At   eleven    o'clock,   the 

procession  commenced  to  move  ;  and,  except  that  some  of  the  fire 
companies  and  one  or  two  associations  did  not  appear  in  line,  the 
order  was  precisely  according  to  the  original  programme.  The 
military  were  out  in  full  for,ce,  some  1,500  to  1,800  strong,  and 
presented  a  fine  appearance;  almost  the  entire  fire  department, 
of  both  districts,  were  in  the  line,  and  considering  their  parades 
the  day  previous,  presented  a  strong  force.  The  visiting  delega- 
tions were  all  represented,  as  were  the  civic  societies.  The  turn- 
out of  the  trades,  with  their  various  implements  of  handicraft 
and  specimens  of  workmanship,  was  much  greater  than  was 
anticipated,  and  formed  a  most  attractive  feature  of  the  pageant. 
The  length  of  the  procession  may  be  estimated  when  it  is  stated 
that  it  was  over  two  hours  passing  a  given  point.  The  number  of 
persons  in  the  line  was  estimated  at  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand. 
There  were  at  least  3,000  horses  in  the  procession.  On  Lee 
avenue,  near  Heap  street,  a  profusely  decorated  platform  was 
occupied  by  1,700  children  of  the  Lee  avenue  Sunday  school,  while 
a  little  beyond,  a  beautiful  arch  spanned  the  avenue,  and  on  either 
side,  were  platforms  upon  which  were  seated  some  sixty  young 
ladies  representing  the  different  sabbath  schools  of  the  Eastern 
District,  together  with  a  fine  brass  band  and  a  number  of  promi- 
nent citizens  of  the  Nineteenth  ward.  Here  a  handsome  wreath 
of  flowers  was  presented  to  the  Water  Commissioners,  and  re- 
ceived with  an  appropriate  address.  Throughout  the  entire  line 
of  the  procession  crowds  of  people  thronged  the  streets,  while 
the  windows  and  house-tops  fairly  swarmed  with  ladies  and 
children.  Many  of  the  houses  were  tastefully  decorated,  and  dis- 
played appropriate  mottoes.  The  number  of  people  who  witnessed 
the  display  was  estimated  at  upwards  of  300,000,  some  150,000 
people,  at  least,  having  crossed  the  ferries  for  that  purpose.  The 
head  of  the  procession  had  reached  the  City  Hall,  on  its  return, 
and  dismissed,  long  ere  the  end  of  the  line  had  passed  that  building. 
Upon  reaching  the  City  Hall,  the  Common  Council  and  their 
invited  guests  entered  the  building  and  assembled  in  the  Common 

55 


434  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Council  chamber.  Here  addresses  were  delivered  by  Gov.  Morgan 
and  Peter  Cooper ;  and,  after  partaking  of  a  collation  which  had 
been  spread  in  the  Supreme  Court  room  and  corridors,  the  party 
assembled  again  in  the  Common  Council  chamber,  where  they 
listened  to  a  chaste  and  eloquent  oration  by  Richard  C.  Underhill, 
Esq.  An  ode,  written  for  the  occasion,  by  a  lady,  was  then  sung 
to  the  air  of  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  by  Mr.  Frederick  Steins, 
the  audience  partially  joining  in  the  chorus.  Addresses  followed 
from  Ex-Mayor  Jonathan  Trotter;  Mr.  Mayo,  the  mayor  of  Rich- 
mond, Va. ;  E.  P.  Cornman,  Esq.,  of  the  select  council  of  Phila- 
delphia;  Mr.  Allen,  mayor  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  Mr.  McPhail, 
president  of  the  common  council  of  Baltimore,  and  lastly,  Mr.  S. 
S.  Powell,  the  mayor  of  Brooklyn. 

In  the  evening,  a  splendid  exhibition  of  fireworks  wts  given  in 
front  of  the  City  Hall,  which  was  witnessed  by,  perhaps,  the 
largest  concourse  of  people  ever  assembled,  at  one  point,  in  the  city 
of  Brooklyn.  The  hall  itself,  festooned  with  brilliant  Chinese 
lanterns,  presented  a  very  beautiful  spectacle.  The  fountain  was 
throwing  up  its  most  powerful  jet,  and  its  appearance,  as  the  spray 
glistened  like  silver  in  the  rays  of  the  large  calcium  lights  which 
were  concentrated  upon  it,  or  assumed  rainbow  hues  in  the  light 
of  the  many  colored  fires  of  the  fireworks,  was  as  novel  as  it  was 
strikingly  beautiful.  Throughout  the  city,  the  public  buildings 
and  many  of  the  private  residences  were  illuminated  and  other- 
wise tastefully  decorated.  At  Green-Point,  there  was  also  a  very 
fine  exhibition  of  fireworks.  In  the  Eastern  District  the  display 
of  fireworks  was  renewed  until  the  next  evening.  Thus  closed  a 
demonstration  such  as  Brooklyn  never  before  witnessed,  and  which, 
as  a  pageant,  has  rarely  been  equalled  even  in  the  metropolis 
itself. 

During  this  winter  (1859-60)  the  collegiate  department  of  the 
Long  Island  College  Hospital  was  organized,  and  the  announcement 
of  its  first  course  of  lectures  made. 

1860.  February  3d.  About  7  o'clock,  a.  m.,  the  new  hat  factory 
situated  on  Nostrand  avenue,  between  Myrtle  and  Park  avenues, 
was  the  scene  of  an  explosion  and  great  loss  of  life.  It  was 
owned  by  Ames  &  Molten  of  No.  35  Broadway,  New  York,  and 


niSTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  435 

with  all  its  machinery  was  entirely  new.  It  waa  put  in  opera- 
tion the  latter  part  of  January,  1860.  The  cost  of  the  building 
was  *12,000,  and  that  of  the  machinery  and  fixtures  (exclusive  of 
boiler)  was  SI, 000.  The  building  at  the  time  of  the  explo 
contained  about  815,000  worth  of  stock  in  different  states  of 
preparation.  The  machinery  was  entirely  new,  and  an  extra  price 
was  paid  to  secure  the  most  durable  and  safest  kind.  The  engine 
and  boiler  were  from  the  hands  of  approved  makers,  and  had  been 
run  but  one  week.  They  were  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Eastman, 
an  engineer  of  large  experience,  who  had  been  sent  here  by  the 
manufacturers  to  set  up  and  run  the  same,  until  a  competent  man 
could  be  obtained,  and  he  was  among  the  killed.  The  main  build- 
ing in  which  the  engine  and  boiler  were  located,  was  200  feet  in 
length,  25  feet  broad,  and  three  stories  high.  About  one-third  of 
this  was  demolished;  an  adjoining  building,  30x30  feet,  included 
in  the  premises,  was  but  little  injured.  The  building,  under  the 
ordinary  terms  of  insurance,  was  insured  for  88,000. 

By  this  explosion  nine  persons  lost  their  lives,  and  eighteen 
were  more  or  less  seriously  injured.  The  shock  of  the  explosion 
was  tremendous.  The  north  end  of  the  building,  in  which  was 
situated  the  engine  and  boiler,  was  entirely  demolished.  The 
floors  at  the  extreme  eastern  end,  which  were  left  standing, 
were  so  compressed  that  if  the  workmen  had  been  in  that  part 
of  the  building  they  would  inevitably  have  been  killed.  There 
were  about  seventy-five  female  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
male  operatives  employed  in  the  factory ;  but,  fortunately,  only 
thirty-five  had  arrived  at  the  time  of  the  explosion. 

July  7th.  The  Brooklyn  City  Flour  Mills  were  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  fire  originated  on  the  first  floor,  near  the  large  chim- 
ney ;  several  flues  from  the  furnaces  joined  and  communicated 
with  this  chimney.  It  was  known  by  the  workmen  that  the 
chimney  where  the  flues  joined  were  cracked  and  defective.  The 
fire,  when  discovered,  was  at  this  point.  There  can  be  but  little 
doubt  that  the  fire  originated  from  this  defect. 

The  building  was  of  brick,  six  stories  high,  and  fifty-eight  feet 
square.  At  the  time  of  the  fire  the  hatchway-  were  open,  and  the 
flames  spread  to  all  parts  of  the  building,  and  in  less  than  one  hour 


436  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN, 

it  was  a  mass  of  ruins.  The  building  was  erected  in  1834  by 
Obadiah  Jackson,  and  was  occupied  by  him  for  several  years,  the 
lower  floor  being  used  as  a  grocery,  the  upper  part  for  storage. 
Mr.  Jackson  having  failed,  the  building  was  sold  by  the  assignee 
to  Silas  S.  Carll,  and  by  him  subsequently  to  Calvin  Howe  for 
$18,000,  in  whose  hands  it  remained  until  about  1857,  when  it 
was  purchased  by  Messrs.  Smith,  Leech  &  Jewell.  The  machinery 
of  the  mill  was  put  in,  in  1853,  and  new  machinery  and  improve- 
ments had  been  added  every  year  afterwards. 

The  loss  on  the  building  was  over  $15,000 ;  insurance,  $9,500. 
Loss  of  stock,  $10,000 ;  insurance,  $8,500.  Loss  on  machinery, 
$35,000 ;  insurance,  $13,000.  Making  a  total  loss  of  $60,000 ; 
total  insurance,  $31,000. 

July  13th.  Dr.  Matthew  "Wendell,  an  old  resident  and  physi- 
cian, and  at  one  time  health  officer,  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty- 
one  years. 

In  the  summer  of  1860,  forty-six  cases  of  yellow  fever  were 
reported  to  the  health  department.  Thirty-four  cases  occurred  in 
the  block  commencing  at  the  corner  of  Columbia  street,  running 
thence  westerly  to  the  water  along  Congress  street,  on  both  sides 
of  the  street.  It  was  supposed  to  have  originated  from  some 
lightermen  who  resided  in  this  neighborhood  and  were  engaged 
on  lighters  at  quarantine.  After  the  occurrence  of  one  death 
of  a  well  marked  type,  and  the  results  of  a  post  mortem  examina- 
tion, showing  the  well  marked  pathological  lesions  pathognomonic 
of  this  disease,  were  made  patent,  such  of  the  sick  as  could  be 
were  removed  to  the  Flatbush  Hospital ;  where,  as  soon  as  the  first 
death  occurred,  an  autopsy  revealed  the  same  conditions.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  take  prompt  and 
decisive  action  in  order  to  check  the  further  spread  of  the  disease. 

The  houses  in  Congress  street,  from  the  corner  of  Columbia  to 
the  dock,  on  the  south  side,  were  three  or  four  stories  in  height, 
on  the  north  side  they  were  not  so  large ;  all  were  tenements,  and 
each  room  and  bed  room  were  occupied  by  a  family,  each  family 
averaging  from  four  to  six  persons ;  the  cellars  were  damp  and 
filled  with  refuse  garbage,  ashes  and  all  kinds  of  dirt.  The  street 
was  in  a  very  filthy  condition.     The  occupants  of  the  houses  were 


HISTORY  OF  BROOK!  A  N  437 

chiefly  those  of  the  laboring  classes,  among  whom  were  longshore- 
men, lightermen,  stevedores,  etc.  In  order,  according  to  law,  to 
meet  this  emergency,  it  was  necessary  to  convene  the  board  of 
health,  in  special  session;  and  consultation,  report,  proclama- 
tion, advertising,  special  reports  from  health  officer,  etc.,  must 
have  preceded  any  action  in  the  premises.  To  have  waited 
until  due  process  according  to  law  could  have  been  gone  through 
with,  was  equivalent  to  waiting  until  the  disease  had  time 
to  gain  such  headway  as  to  almost  render  futile  any  action 
that  might  be  taken  towards  the  checking  of  the  disease ;  in  fact, 
remedial  measures  would  be  in  active  operation  about  the  time 
the  acme  of  the  epidemic  had  been  reached  and  from  natural 
causes  began  to  decline.  Reasoning  that  our  law  makers 
designed  to  protect  the  health  and  lives  of  the  people  by  the 
enactment  of  health  laws,  and  finding  that  the  method  of  carrying: 

>  CD  »/  O 

such  laws  into  effect,  by  the  mode  laid  down,  was  ineffective  and 
likely  to  fail  to  accomplish  the  object  designed,  it  was  assumed 
that  a  departure  from  the  mode,  although  unlawful  by  statute, 
was  justified  by  common  sense  and  humanity,  and  the  responsibility 
was  immediately  taken  of  putting  into  operation  the  necessary 
effective  measures.  All  the  streets,  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  houses,  cellars,  yards,  etc.,  were  thoroughly  disin- 
fected and  cleaned,  and  ventilated ;  and  the  residents  either 
forced  or  frightened  so  that,  in  a  few  days,  nearly  all  the 
houses  became  unoccupied,  many  of  the  sick  were  removed  to 
different  parts  of  the  city,  and  in  no  case  was  there  a  single  person 
affected  by  the  disease  from  contact  with  those  who  came  to 
their  homes  with  it.  Many,  at  the  time,  strongly  condemned 
the  removal  of  the  sick  to  the  unaffected  districts  of  the  city; 
but,  inasmuch,  as  no  harm  ensued,  the  censure  was  shortlived, 
and  was  soon  followed  by  praise  from  the  same  lips.  Before  the 
time  had  elapsed,  which  would  have  been  necessary  to  convene  the 
board  of  health,  make  and  issue  the  proclamation  and  publish  the 
same,  pass  the  necessary  resolutions  to  raise  the  money  required  to 
meet  the  expenses,  etc.,  nearly  all  the  work  had  been  done,  and  the 
disease,  whether  sporadic,  or  epidemic  in  its  character,  or  not,  had 
been  met,  checked  and  its  spread  prevented.     This  was  accom- 


438  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

plished  without  exciting  or  alarming  the  community,  and  by 
the  time  it  became  generally  known,  the  fact  of  its  decline 
was  announced. 

The  first  case  occurred  in  a  man  who  worked  on  a  lighter  at 
the  quarantine  station,  at  Staten  Island.  He  and  his  sister,  who 
kept  house  for  him,  both  died,  the  former  at  Flatbush  Hospital, 
and  the  latter  at  her  residence  in  Congress  street.  Post  mortem 
examinations  in  both  instances,  disclosed  well  marked  and  charac- 
teristic lesions  of  yellow  fever. 

The  census  of  Brooklyn  for  1860,  thanks  to  the  indefatigable 
exertions  of  Dr.  Thos.  P.  Morris,  superintendent  of  census  returns 
for  Kings  county,  possess  a  completeness  and  which  render  them 
of  more  than  ordinary  interest  and  value.  The  statistics  will  be 
found  in  one  of  the  appendices. 

1861.  January.  The  skating  mania  broke  out  in  Brooklyn. 
Though  its  citizens  had  ever  indulged,  more  or  less,  in  skating 
upon  the  various  ponds,  which  were  so  numerous  in  the  suburbs, 
it  was  not  until  this  season  that  the  exercise  received  that  extra- 
ordinary impetus  which  has  made  it,  for  the  past  seven  or  eight 
years,  the  most  popular  and  fashionable  amusement  of  the  winter. 
The  Brooklyn  Skating  Club  was  organized,  soon  attained  a  member- 
ship of  over  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  under  the  direction  of  its 
officers,  Messrs.  R.  B.  Jordan,  0.  Wetmore,  T.  B.  Ball,  G.  C. 
Ackerman,  etc.,  inaugurated  a  season  of  festivity. 

April  5th.  The  charter  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Martin  Kalbfleisch  (democrat),  as  mayor,  by  a  majority  of  5,136 
(in  a  poll  of  28,280)  votes,  over  his  republican  competitor 
Frederick  Scholes. 

April  15th.1  The  dispatch  from  the  secretary  of  war,  announc- 
ing the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  president's  proclama- 
tion, calling  for  75,000  volunteers,  electrified  the  citizens  of  Brook- 
lyn, as  well  as  those  of  every  portion  of  the  northern  states.  The 
excitement  was  intense,  business  was  virtually  suspended,  men 

1Notice. —  Brooklyn's  share,  in  the  war  for  the  suppression  of  the  civil  rebellion  — 
the  narration  of  which,  indeed,  comprises  the  greater  portion  of  Brooklyn  history  for 
the  four  years  succeeding  this  date  —  can  only  be  given  by  us  in  outline.  We  lack 
both  space  and  time  to  give  more  than  a  cursory  view  of  this  epoch,  such  as  is  neces- 


H1ST0BY  OF  BBOOEL1  N  439 

could  hardly  realize  that  war  was  begun  ;  but,  the  momentary 
paralysis  of  surprise  was  quickly  followed  by  a  rebound  of  loyalty, 
as  universal  as  it  was  magnificent  The  stars  and  stripes  was 
flung  to  the  breeze  upon  all  public  places,  from  almost  every 
store  and  from  hundreds  of  private  dwellings  ;  so  intense,  indeed, 
was  the  public  feeling,  that  the  absence  of  the  national  flag  in 
certain  quarters  invited  a  suspicion  of  disloyalty.  On  the  17th, 
a  mob  visited  the  Eagle,  News,  Standard  and  Star  newspaper 
offices,  compelling  their  proprietors  to  show  their  colors ;  and  on 
the  street  and  in  all  public  places,  incautious  sympathizers  with 
the  south  were  admonished  by  arguments  more  striking  than 
pleasant,  of  the  propriety  of  keeping  their  thoughts  and  words  to 
themselves.  The  young  men  of  the  Seventh,  Ninth,  and  Nine- 
teenth wards,  commenced  to  form  a  volunteer  company.  By  the 
19th,  the  news  of  the  dastardly  attack  on  the  Massachusetts  Sixth, 
at  Baltimore  aroused  the  excitement  to  a  white  heat,  and  the  excess 
of  loyalty  seemed  to  threaten  an  outbreak  of  mob  violence,1  in 
view  of  which  Mayor  Powell  issued  a  proclamation  counseling 
moderation  and  peace.  The  four  militia  regiments  comprising  the 
Fifth  Brigade,  viz :  13th,  14th,  70th  and  28th,2  began  to  make 
ready  for  the  fray,  recruiting  offices  were  opened,  and  their  ranks 
were  largely  swelled  by  accessions  of  patriotic  young  men.  Capt. 
Wm.  H.  Hogan,  the  former  gallant  commandant  of  the  Napper 


•sary  for  a  comprehensive  view  of  Brooklyn's  progress  up  to  date,  viz :  1869.  Under 
the  head  of  Military,  in  our  concluding  chapter,  the  reader  will  find  brief  notices  of 
the  various  regiments  from  this  city,  engaged  in  the  war.  The  subject  claims  a. 
separate  volume  for  its  proper  presentation  —  a  volume  which  we  hoped  would,  ere 
this,  have  been  given  to  the  public  under  the  auspices  of  the  War  Fund  Committee. 

1  An  amusing  instance  of  this  occurred  at  the  Packer  Collegiate  Institute,  where 
the  exhibition  of  a  palmetto  badge  by  some  of  the  southern  young  lady  pupils,  pro- 
voked a  sudden  outburst  of  red,  white  and  blue  badges  among  the  northern  girls, 
and  finally  the  principal,  Prof.  Crittenden,  deemed  it  best  to  order  the  total  suppres- 
sion of  all  badges.  This  sensible  proceeding  called  forth  the  ire  of  several  hundred 
young  men  around  town,  who  proceeded  to  the  Institute  and  called  for  the  exhibition 
of  the  stars  and  stripes,  which  were,  of  course,  forthcoming  ;  and  the  police  dispersed 
the  overzealous  crowd. 

2  Previous  to  this  the  ranks  of  these  regiments  had  been  poorly  filled,  viz  :  the 
13th  having  about  250  ;  the  14th  about  150  ;  the  70th  about  350 ;  and  the  28th  about 
400  men. 


440  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Tandy  Light  Artillery,  commenced  among  his  countrymen  the 
organization  of  an  artillery  company,  which  eventually  did  good 
service  with  the  Irish  Brigade.  The  common  council  appropriated 
(19th),  $75,000  for  the  relief  of  families  of  those  who  should 
volunteer.  On  the  20th,  Gen.  Duryea  received  orders  to  send 
forward  two  of  the  Brooklyn  regiments,  and  selected  the  13th 
(Col.  Abel  Smith),  and  28th  (Col.  Mich.  Benett).  Major  Ander- 
son, the  hero  of  Fort  Sumter,  also,  this  day  quietly  visited  the 
city,  and  was  warmly  greeted  by  the  comparatively  few  citizens 
who  knew  of  his  coming.  In  the  evening  of  this  day,  an  enthu- 
siastic demonstration  was  made  on  occasion  of  raising  an  Ameri- 
can flag  over  the  Citizen's  Gas  Light  Company's  works,  with  the 
accompaniment  of  speeches,  music,  ladies,  etc. 

April  21st.  (Sabbath).  The  recruiting  offices  were  kept  open 
all  day,  and  the  work  of  enrollment  went  bravely  on.  In  Plymouth 
church,  the  sum  of  $1,000,  and  in  the  Pierrepont  street  Baptist 
church,  $1,077  was  contributed  towards  the  equipment  of  the  13th 
and  14th,  and  this  without  previous  notice  being  given.  A.  A. 
Low  contributed  $300  for  the  13th. 

April  22d.  Messrs.  Whitehouse  &  Pierce,  188  Fulton  street, 
furnished  equipments  to  those  of  their  employes  who  volunteered ; 
and  guaranteed  their  situations  to  them  upon  their  return,  as  well 
as  the  payment  of  their  salaries  to  their  families  during  their 
absence.  The  city  was  all  alive ;  companies  parading  the  streets, 
preparatory  to  being  formed  into  regiments  —  everything  be* 
tokened  preparation — the  Zouaves  were  actively  drilling ;  nothing 
but  the  war  was  thought  of  or  talked  about ;  business  was  at  a 
stand  still.  In  the  evening,  an  enthusiastic  meeting  was  held  at 
Music  Hall  to  organize  a  home  guard,  Geo.  Hall  was  chairman, 
stirring  speeches  were  made  by  him,  by  Col.  Thorpe,  M.  F.  Odell, 
Hon.  James  Humphrey,  and  200  signed  the  roll  of  members. 
The  common  council,  this  evening,  also,  authorized  the  effecting 
of  a  loan  of  $100,000  for  the  equipment  of  Brooklyn  volunteers, 
and  the  support  of  their  families.  Father  Rafina,  priest  of  the 
Montrose  avenue  catholic  church,  with  his  own  hands  raised  an 
American  flag  upon  the  top  of  his  church,  in  the  presence  of  over 
2,000  people,whom  he  addressed  with  a  few  appropriate  remarks, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  441 

and  whose  plaudits  were  enthusiastic.  The  captain  of  the  United 
States  Survey  vessel,  the  Varina  (a  southerner),  very  quietly 
attempted  to  move  his  craft  out  of  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  and 
down  the  river,  in  the  night,  with  the  view,  it  is  supposed,  of 
taking  her  to  Dixie.  The  crew,  however,  suspecting  his  design, 
managed  to  communicate  with  the  commandant  of  the  receiving 
ship,  North  Carolina  ;  a  line  was  thrown  across  the  stream,  the 
Varina  was  stopped,  and  her  crew  removed  to  the  guard,  and  she 
left  empty  in  the  stream,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  loyal  tars,  who 
cheered  for  the  Union  and  hooted  at  treason,  while  they  were 
leaving  the  vessel. 

About  this  time,  also,  occurred  what  was,  at  the  time,  charac- 
terized by  some  of  the  daily  papers,  "the  Navy  Yard  scare;  "  but 
which,  in  fact,  possessed  a  far  greater  importance  than  many 
supposed.  One  day,  about  2  p.  m.,  Mayor  Powell  was  waited 
upon  by  Capt.  (afterwards  Commodore)  Foote,  (then  in  command 
of  the  United  States  Navy  Yard  here,  in  the  absence  of  Commo- 
dore Bell),  who  stated  to  him  that  he  had  reason  to  believe  that 
an  attempt  would  be  made  that  night  to  burn  the  Navy  Yard, 
and  that  he  had  but  eighty  men  (all  told),  capable  of  bearing 
arms  in  the  defense  of  the  government  property.  He  requested 
aid  from  the  city  authorities ;  and  in  response  to  his  demand, 
active  measures  were  at  once  put  forth  by  Mayor  Powell  to  meet 
the  difficulty  before  sundown.  It  was  understood  that  the  pro- 
posed attack  upon  the  yard,  was  to  be  made  by  a  force  of  rebel 
sympathizers,  crossing  from  New  York  in  small  numbers  at  the 
different  ferries,  and  rendezvousing  in  or  near  the  City  Park, 
under  the  Navy  Yard  walls,  from  which  point,  after  dark,  they 
could  easily  have  possessed  themselves  of  the  place ;  and,  after  a 
liberal  use  of  fire-balls  and  other  combustibles  among  the  inflam- 
mable contents  of  the  yard,  could  have  escaped  before  a  general 
alarm  had  been  communicated  to  the  city.  Placing  himself  in 
communication  with  the  headquarters  of  the  Metropolitan  Police, 
a  heavy  force  (some  1,000  in  all),  of  police  were  distributed  near 
the  yard,  the  ferries,  etc.,  while  the  river  in  its  front  was  patrolled 
by  the  police-boat  and  numerous  well  manned  row-boats.  Col. 
Graham's  artillery  regiment,  the  Seventieth,  took  possession  of 

56 


442  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  Arsenal,  on  Portland  avenue,  and  the  Thirteenth  (Col.  Smith) 
were  under  arms  at  the  Armory  on  Cranberry  St.,  and  the  militia 
generally,  under  direction  of  General  Duryea,  were  in  readiness 
for  instant  service.  So  promptly  was  all  this  effected,  that  no 
attempt  was  made,  and  hence  the  cry  of  scare  ;  but  facts  which 
subsequently  came  to  light,  prove  that  the  attempt  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  made,  but  for  the  activity  and  vigilance  of  the 
city  authorities. 

The  Union  Ferry  Company  guarantied  to  those  of  their  em- 
ployes who  should  volunteer,  a  continuance  of  salary  to  their 
families,  and  their  places  again  upon  their  return.  Forty  Brook- 
lyn ladies  volunteer  as  nurses;  and  quantities  of  lint,  etc.,  is 
offered.  The  13th  Washington  Division,  No.  4,  of  the  Sons  of 
Temperance,  vote  the  appropriation  of  $3  per  week  to  the  family 
of  any  member  who  shall  volunteer;  and,  in  case  of  his  death, 
$20  in  addition  to  the  $30  already  given  as  a  funeral  benefit,  and 
also  pledged  themselves  to  provide  for  the  widow  and  orphans. 
This  day  was  held  an  immense  war  meeting  on  Fort  Greene,  at 
which  it  was  estimated  that  50,000  people  were  present.  There 
were  three  stands  for  speakers,  music,  etc.  Mayor  Powell  pre- 
sided ;  a  salute  of  34  guns  was  fired,  prayer  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Vinton;  resolutions  read  by  Alex.  McCue,  Esq.,  and 
speeches  made  by  Hon.  Mr.  Van  Wyck,  Hon.  R.  J.  Walker, 
Senator  Baker,  of  Oregon,  Hon.  John  Cochran,  and  many  others. 
A  letter  from  (the  Catholic)  Bishop  Loughlin  was  read,  and  the 
scene  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  some  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  Fort  Sumter  garrison.  At  3  p.m.  of  the  same  day  the  13th 
Regiment  left  for  the  seat  of  war,  450  strong,  200  being  left  behind 
owing  to  a  lack  of  equipments.  The  National  Home  Guard  was 
also  organized ;  and  the  citizens  of  the  9th  ward  organized  a  Home 
Relief  Association,  of  which  Mr.  J.  Carson  Brevoort  was  chosen 
president,  and  $1,950  were  subscribed  on  the  spot  for  the  purposes 
of  the  society  and  for  aiding  the  families  of  volunteers  from  that 
ward. 

April  24th.  The  members  of  the  Kings  County  Medical  Society 
resolved  to  render  gratuitous  professional  services  to  the  families 
of  volunteers,  during  their  absence. 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  X.  14:5 

April  25th.  The  Mechanics'  Bank  took  $25,000  of  the  city  loan 
of  $100,000. 

April  26th.  A  Ladies'  Lint  Society  was  in  operation  in  Monroe 
Place  and  vicinity,  and  another  among  the  young  ladies  of  Brook- 
lyn Heights  Seminary.  The  mayor  sent  a  communication  to  the 
common  council  proposing  the  organization  of  a  force  of  2,000 
men,  in  companies  of  100  each,  properly  officer^!,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  city  and  its  surroundings.  The  Brooklyn  Yacht  Chtb 
tendered  to  the  United  States  Government,  the  use  of  their  vessels, 
for  any  service  for  which  they  might  be  required  in  the  shallow  water 
along  our  coast,  including  the  maintenance  of  a  small  armed  screw 
propeller,  as  a  coast  guard  from  Barnegat  to  Fire  island. 

April  28th.  (Sabbath).  Impressive  religious  services  were 
held  at  the  arsenal,  where  the  28th  Regiment  was  quartered,  pre- 
paring to  leave.  During  the  preceding  week  this  regiment  had 
received  1,590  yards  of  bandaging  prepared  by  the  ladies  of  Clinton 
avenue  Congregational  church.  On  this  day,  also,  Maj.  Oatmari 
raised  the  American  flag  on  the  old  "  1699,"  or  Vechte  Cortelyou 
house. 

April  29.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Association  for  the  Relief  of 
Volunteers'  Families,  between  two  and  three  thousand  dollars  was 
raised. 

April  30th.  The  28th  Regiment  left  for  the  front,  and  were 
escorted  to  the  dock  by  the  Lancer  Troop  and  howitzer  battery 
of  the  70th  Regiment.  The  common  council  appointed  com- 
mittees for  relief  to  volunteers'  families,  each  committee  consist- 
ing of  three  from  each  ward. 

April.  During  this  and  the  succeeding  month,  Col.  Pratt 
and  others,  mostly  of  Brooklyn,  organized  at  Xew  York  city,  the 
Thirty-first  Regiment  of  New  York  Volunteers. 

May  2d.  The  Home  Trust  of  Volunteers  of  Brooklyn  organized, 
witb  A.  A.  Low,  as  president;  Messrs.  Geo.  Hall,  Luther  B. 
"Wyirian  and  Hosea  Webster  as  vice-presidents,  J.  H.  Frothingham, 
treasurer ;  W.  S.  Griffith,  secretary ;  and  R.  R.  Raymond,  corre- 
sponding secretary.  The  board  of  county  supervisors  appropriate 
§50,000  for  the  relief  of  families  of  volunteers,  and  pledge  them- 
selves to  continue  the  salaries  of  employes  who  may  volunteer. 


444  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

A  large  Union  meeting  was  held  at  New  Utrecht.  The  ladies  of 
the  8th  ward  organized  a  Patriotic  Relief  Association  for  pro- 
vision of  hospital  stores,  etc.,  for  sick  and  wounded  soldiers. 

May  6th.  The  new  mayor  Martin  Kalbfleisch,  entered  upon  his 
official  duties. 

May  9th.  The  reserves  of  the  13th  Eegiment  (425),  left  for  the 
seat  of  war  to  join  that  regiment.  The  Hunter's  Point  route  of 
the  Long  Island  rail  road  was  opened. 

May  20th.  The  14th,  under  Col.  Alfred  M.  Wood,  left  for  the 
seat  of  war.  Their  departure  was  a  scene  of  enthusiasm  which 
evinced  how  firm  a  hold  this  regiment  had  upon  the  affections  of 
Brooklyn  citizens. 

June.  Early  in  this  month  $50,000  was  appropriated  by  the 
board  of  supervisors,  exclusively  for  the  relief  of  volunteers' 
families. 

•  June  26th.  The  corner-stone  of  a  Home  for  destitute  children, 
was  laid,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Brooklyn  Industrial  Associa- 
tion. 

July  1st.  The  common  council  appropriated  $2,500.  towards 
the  equipment  of  the  14th  Regiment,  on  the  application  of  Lieut. 
Col.  Fowler. 

July  4th,  was  kept  this  year  with  more  than  usual  demonstra- 
tion of  patriotic  feeling.  All  the  local  militia  regiments  (13th, 
14th  and  28th),  being  absent  on  service  in  the  field,  the  70th  was 
the  only  one  left  to  parade.  The  Home  Guard  Battalion,  com- 
posed of  the  reserves  of  different  regiments  then  at  the  seat  of 
war,  paraded  also ;  as  did  several  juvenile  companies  of  Cadets, 
Zouaves,  etc. 

July  30th.  The  13th  Regiment  return  from  their  tour  of  service 
and  are  cordially  welcomed. 

During  this  and  succeeding  months,  the  "  Continental  Guard," 
afterwards  the  Forty-eighth  New  York  Volunteers,  was  recruited 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Perry,  formerly  pastor  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

August.  During  this  and  the  following  month,  the  New  York 
Fifth  Independent  Battery  was  organized  at  Brooklyn;  and  the 
Ninetieth  New  York  Volunteer  Regiment,  at  East  New  York. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  445 

August  5th.  The  28th  Regiment  returned  home,  and  were 
mustered  out  of  service. 

August  6th.  The  board  of  supervisors  appropriated  §10,000 
to  the  relief  of  volunteers'  families. 

August  22d.  The  First  Long  Island  (Brooklyn  Phalanx), 
Regiment,  recruited  in  Brooklyn,  by  Col.  Nelson  A.  Cross,  de- 
parted for  the  seat  of  war. 

Oct.  Col.  Abel  Smith,  of  the  13th  Regiment,  met  with  acci- 
dental injuries,  which  resulted  in  his  death. 

Dec.  5th.  The  supervisors  appropriated  835,000  to  the  support 
of  volunteers'  families. 

1862.  January.  On  the  30th  of  this  month,  the  iron  Monitor 
was  launched  at  Green-Point ;  was  placed  in  commission  on  the 
25th  of  February;  and  eleven  days  after  (March  8th)  had  her  cele- 
brated encounter  with  the  rebel  ram  Merrimac,  in  Hampton  Roads. 

February  4th.  The  Capitoline  Club  was  organized.  The  small- 
pox was  very  prevalent  in  the  city. 

March  3d.  A  grand  public  reception  was  given  to  Col.  A.  M. 
"Wood,  of  the  14th  Regiment,  on  his  return  from  captivity  in 
Richmond,  by  the  authorities,  military,  fire  department,  and 
citizens  generally. 

March  27th.  Brooklyn  received  a  new  charier,  by  an  act  of  the 
legislature,  amendatory  of  the  consolidation  act  of  1854. 

May.  A  new  regiment  (the  56th),  of  State  Militia  was  organ- 
ized at  Brooklyn. 

May,  17th.  A  large  and  enthusiastic  public  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  the  17th  -ward  (Green-Point),  held  early  in  this  year, 
organized  an  association  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of  soldiers 
enlisted  in  the  army  and  navy.  Messrs.  Jabez  Williams,  A.  Iv. 
Meserole,  Win,  M.  Meserole,  James  Ross,  Jonathan  Moore,  James 
Valentine,  Th.  Hutchinson,  T.  F.  Rowland,  Wm.  Foulks,  J.  X. 
Stearns,  Geo.  W.  Bell,  John  McDiarmid,  C.  V.  Rivenburg,  John 
B.  Downing,  Geo.  W.  Kelsey,  Ab'm  Meserole  and  Rev.  Peter 
Boyce,  were  appointed  an  executive  committee,  of  which  Mr. 
Boyce  was  president ;  A.  J.  Provost,  Timothy  Perry,  Adrian 
Meserole,  vice-presidents ;  Ab'm  Meserole,  and  afterwards  J.  1ST. 
Stearns,  secretary,  and  Mr.  E.  F.  Williams,  treasurer.     A  sub- 


446  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

scription  was  started,  and  the  large  sum  subscribed  on  the  spot, 
was  subsequently  increased  to  over  $10,000.  The  executive  com- 
mittee met  every  week  day  night,  for  months,  visited  soldiers' 
families,  and  furnished  regular  relief  to  over  100  families,  con- 
taining about  140  children,  besides  occasional  relief  to  other 
families.     Nearly  500  men  enlisted  from  this  ward.1 

May  20th.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  County  Court  House, 
at  junction  of  Fulton  and  Joralemon  streets,  was  laid  on  this  day, 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Fire  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  New  York. 
The  ceremonies  were  impressive  in  the  extreme,  and  there  was  a 
large  concourse  both  of  masons  and  citizens.  The  majority  of 
the  board  of  supervisors  and  aldermen,  judges,  and  city  and 
county  officials  were  present;  and  speeches  were  made  by  Gen. 
Crooke,  Judge  Lott,  Mayor  KalbfLeisch,  Rev.  Dr.  Storrs  and 
others. 

June.  The  Coney  Island  Rail  Road,  from  Fulton  Ferry  to 
Coney  island,  was  completed.  It  was  eleven  miles  in  length, 
being  the  longest  road  in  the  city. 

August  15th.  A  great  Union  meeting  was  held  on  Fort  Greene, 
in  view  of  the  draft  ordered  (Aug.  4th)  by  the  government,  for 
300,000  men  for  nine  months'  service ;  the  proportion  of  Kings 
county  being  placed  at  4,294.  On  the  16th,  the  board  of  super- 
visors appropriated  the  sum  of  $240,000  to  be  borrowed  on  the 
credit  of  the  county,  for  ($50)  bounties,  for  volunteers  before  the 
1st  of  September  following. 

Brooklyn  had,  as  we  have  seen,  responded  nobly  to  the  first 
call  of  the  government  upon  the  loyal  population  of  the  north. 
Some  10,000  of  her  bravest  citizens  had  testified  their  devotion  to 
the  old  flag,  upon  every  battle-field  from  Bull  Eun  to  Malvern 
Hill.  To  the  second  appeal  she  sent  forth  her  13th  and  14th 
Militia  Regiments;  but  the  third  call  for  men,  seemed,  from  some 
unaccountable  reason,  to  be  coldly  received;  and,  while  all  other 

Report  of  17th  Ward  Soldiers'  Aid  Association,  March  17,  1863,  reports  that  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1862-3,  relief  was  extended  to  86  families  containing  125  children 
($2  to  adult,  50  cents  to  child,  per  week).  Whole  amount  received  by  treasurer, 
up  to  March  10,  $7,510.06,  of  which  2,840  was  paid  out  for  bounties,  and  $3,929.20 
for  relief. 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  N  447 

communities  were  bestirring  themselves,  holding  meetings,  arous- 
ing popular  enthusiasm,  and  raising  money  to  pay  bounties  to 

volunteers,  she  remained  inactive.  But,  witli  the  impulse  given 
by  thia  great  popular  demonstration,  Brooklyn  quickly  pli 
herself  right  before  the  world,  promptly  resolving  to  do  her  own 
duty,  and  to  furnish  her  quota  of  volunteers  without  reconre 
the  draft.  The  Standard  of  the  23d,  Bays,  "  the  public  meeting 
and  the  additional  bounty  offered,  stimulated  recruiting  to  an 
unprecedented  extent,  and  over  a  thousand  men  have  been  enlisted 
during  the  week,  at  the  various  recruiting  offices  in  the  city. 
The  supervisors  appointed  committees  in  every  ward  to  allot  to 
each  the  quota  required,  and  these  local  committees  are  working 
zealously,  and  with  a  proper  feeling  of  local  pride  and  emulation, 
in  striving  each  to  bring  their  ward,  or  town,  up  to  the  required 
number  of  recruits.  There  has  been  no  lack  of  contributions 
from  private  citizens.  Many  gentlemen  have  contributed  most 
generously,  and  special  bounties  have  swelled  the  inducement  held 
out  to  volunteers." 

Again,  "  the  city  was  all  alive  this  week.  Recruiting  officers 
were  seen  everywhere,  some  with  one,  two,  and  even  six  or  eight 
men  on  the  way  to  different  headquarters.  The  recruiting  tents  in 
the  City  Hall  park  increased  to  nine,  and  the  drums,  in  front  of 
each,  kept  up  their  music  from  morning  to  night.  Tents  have  also 
been  pitched  in  "Washington  Park,  the  City  Park,  at  the  Navy 
Yard,  and  other  eligible  points.  The  whole  city,  in  tact,  begins 
to  wear  a  military  aspect.  The  people  are  aroused;  the  wealthy 
men  are  coming  forward  with  their  contributions,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  men  of  the  right  stamp  are  enlisting  in  squads. 
Mayor  Kalbfleisch  has,  on  his  own  responsibility,  ordered  168  A 
tents  and  fourteen  wall  tents  for  the  officers  and  men  of  the  1st 
Regiment  of  the  Empire  Brigade  ;  the  scene  around  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Brigade  is  animating.  Recruits  come  flocking  in  so  fast 
that  they  cannot  all  be  attended  to  ;  the  four  regiments  of  the  Bri- 
gade, now  average  500  men  each,  and  it  is  confidently  expected  that 
the  first  regiment  will  be  filled  within  a  week.  The  Mechanics' 
Bank,  in  one  day,  cashed  175  checks  for  bounties  to  recruits;  and 
the    day   previous,    93,  amounting  to  a  total  of  87,600."     Mr. 


448  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Charles  Christmas  has  contributed  $200  to  aid  in  recruiting  and 
rendering  a  draft  in  Brooklyn  unnecessary,  to  be  paid  as  special 
bounties  to  the  first  forty  volunteers,  who  signed  the  rolls  between 
nine  and  ten,  on  Wednesday  morning.  Capt.  Jv  Davenport  was 
at  this  time  raising  in  Brooklyn  a  company  of  "  Monitors."  The 
smith's  department  in  the  Navy  Yard,  formed  a  Relief  Associa- 
tion. The  Hon.  William  Wall,  representative  in  congress  from 
the  Fifth  District,  contributed  $1,000  to  aid  in  recruiting  ($10  each), 
first  100  volunteers  in  the  1st  Long  Island,  and  the  14th  Kegiments. 

The  Eastern  District  was  also  aroused  —  meetings  were  held 
nightly  in  almost  every  election  district,  and  liberal  contribu- 
tions were  received. 

An  amusing  episode  occurred  during  this  period  of  general  en- 
thusiasm, which  was  as  creditable  to  those  concerned,  as  it  was 
entertaining.  Mr.  Geo.  B.  Lincoln,  then  post  master  of  Brook- 
lyn, happening  to  call  on  Mayor  Opdyke  of  New  York,  on  the 
sabbath  immediately  following  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
(fought  on  the  29th  of  August)  was  informed  by  the  mayor  that 
he  had  received  a  telegraphic  dispatch  from  the  secretary  of  war, 
requesting  that  a  number  of  volunteer  surgeons  be  forwarded  at 
once,  to  the  front,  to  meet  the  pressing  exigencies  of  the 
moment.  His  honor  suggested  that  the  medical  profession  of 
Brooklyn  might  also  furnish  volunteers  for  this  service  ;  and  Mr. 
Lincoln,  entering  heartily  into  the  plan,  immediately  returned  to 
Brooklyn,  which  he  reached  at  about  half-past  ten  a.  m.,  an  hour, 
unfortunately  for  his  purpose,  when  physicians,  as  well  as  others, 
are  generally  at  church.  Taking  his  carriage,  however,  he  drove 
rapidly  around  to  the  offices  of  various  physicians,  finding  some 
ten  or  a  dozen  of  them  at  home,  all  of  whom  promptly  volunteered 
their  services,  and  prepared  to  leave  by  the  evening  train  for 
Washington.  Returning  to  JSTew  York,  Mr.  Lincoln  procured 
for  them  the  necessary  transportation ;  and,  when,  after  a  hard 
day's  work,  he  reached  his  home  about  five  p.  m.,  was  met  at  the 
door  by  his  wife,  who  told  him  that  the  house  was  full  of  doctors  ! 
And  so  it  proved ;  for,  on  entering  he  found  parlors,  hall- ways 
and,  indeed,  every  available  standing  place,  occupied  by  such  a 
gathering  of  medical  men,  as  perhaps,  Brooklyn  never  saw  before. 


BISTORT  OF  BBOOKL1  N.  449 

Old  and  young  were  there,  men  with  a  large  practice  and  tli<>-<- 
with  little  or  none,  representing  all  the  pathies,  and  every  grade 
and  specialty  of  the  medical  profession;  but  all  united  as  one  man, 
in  their  earnest,  unqualified,  wish  to  be  sent  at  once,  to  the  relief 
of  the  suffering  and  wounded  at  the  front.  Somewhat  surprised 
at  the  absence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  from  whom,  as  they  supposed,  they 
had  received  the  call  to  assemble,  they  had,  nevertheless,  organ- 
ised an  impromptu  meeting,  with  the  Hon.  J.  S.  T.  Stranahan,  as 
chairman,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  Ex-Mayor  Hall  and  lion  James 
Humphreys,  were  getting  to  work  in  line  style.  Puzzled  as  he 
was,  at  first,  to  find  his  house  thus  filled  to  overflow,  with  unin- 
vited guests,  Mr.  Lincoln  soon  comprehended  the  situation,  made 
them  at  home,  and  gave  a  brief  statement  of  the  necessities  of 
the  hour.  His  appeal  for  volunteer  surgeons  was  responded  to  en 
masse  by  those  present ;  the  only  difficulty  was  that  of  selection 
of  the  number  (20)  needed,  and  the  favored  ones  left  that  evening 
for  the  seat  of  war,  envied  by  their  less  fortunate  fellow  practition- 
ers. Not  until  some  six  months  after,  did  Mr.  Lincoln  discover 
how  these  medical  patriots  came  to  assemble  ou  call,  at  his 
house,  on  that  eventful  sabbath  afternoon.  It  seems  that  an  en- 
thusiastic and  public  spirited  citizen,  who  met  him  on  his  recruit- 
ing rounds  during  the  morning,  rushed  to  the  police  headquarters, 
and  made  use  of  the  police  telegraph  to  direct  the  captains  of  the 
different  precincts  to  notify  all  physicians  within  their  districts,  to 
rendezvous  at  Post  Master  Lincoln's  on  business  of  great  import- 
ance.    The  result  has  been  told. 

September.  At  Green-Point,  Capt.  Albert  Stearns  recruited  a 
company  (C),  for  the  31st  New  York  Volunteer  Regiment,  then 
forming  in  New  York  city.  The  quota  of  Kings  county,  at  this 
time,  was  8,632,  of  which  4,000  had  been  raised,  leaving  4,G32 
still  due. 

September  15th.  A  superb  sword  was  presented  to  Admiral 
Foote,  at  the  Athenaeum,  by  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn. 

September  16th.  The  friends  of  Gen.  Frank  B.  Spinola,  of 
the  Empire  Brigade,  presented  him  with  a  splendid  charger;  and 
Quarter-Master  James  P.  Del  Vecchio,  of  the  same  brigade,  was 
also  (30th),  honored  with  the  gift  of  a  sword,  sash  and  pistols. 

57 


450  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

November  24th.     The  Woman's  Belief  Society  was  formed. 

December  2d.  The  42d  Massachusetts  Volunteers  left  camp 
at  Union  Course,  L.  L,  this  day,  and  being  delayed  by  not  finding 
the  transport  vessel  ready  for  their  reception,  spent  the  night  in 
Brooklyn,  at  the  armory,  where  they  were  provided  with  a  good 
hot  supper  by  the  13th  New  York  State  National  Guards.  A 
member  of  the  42d  writing  to  the  Barre  (Mass.)  Gazette,  thus 
describes  the  hospitalities  received  by  himself  and  comrades, 
from  the  Brooklynites.  "  Mr.  Geo.  B.  Lincoln,  city  postmaster, 
gave  supper  to  ten  of  our  company ;  gave  them  a  good  bed,  set  a 
table  in  the  morning  for  sixty,  but  breakfasted  about  forty,  that 
being  all  he  could  find.  Wm.  Gilmore,  277  Hicks  street,  gave 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  meals ;  a  stanch,  old  democrat,  said 
lie  could  not  goto  the  war,  but  wanted  to  feed  the  boys.  One  other 
man,  on  Atlantic  street,  dealt  out  coffee  for  two  hours,  while  we 
were  waiting  for  the  boat,  and  distributed  cigars.  One  widow 
lady,  name  unknown,  invited  to  supper  about  fifteen,  gave  them 
lodging,  and  gave  breakfast  to  about  twenty.  There  were  other 
hospitalities,  but  I  am  unable  to  state  them.  The  42d  say,  with 
a  will,  "  Bully  for  Brooklyn ! " 

During  this  year  the  Eleventh  Brigade,  New  York  State 
National  Guard,  was  formed. 

The  winter  of  1862-63,  was  also  signalized  by  the  establishment 
in  Brooklyn,  of  several  new  skating  ponds,  viz :  the  Washington, 
Nassau,  Willow  Pond,  Third  avenue  and  Forty-eighth  street, 
Chichester's  at  Bush  wick ;  Union,  E.  D.,  and  Monitor,  at  Green- 
Point. 

1863.  January  16th.  The  176th  New  York  Volunteer  Begi- 
ment  left  New  York  city  for  the  front.  Three  companies  (B,  I, 
and  K),  had  been  recruited  in  Brooklyn  during  the  previous  fall. 

February.     The  Long  Island  Historical  Society  was  organized. 

June.  For  the  third  time  since  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
the  Brooklyn  militia  was  called  into  active  service,  and  over  2,000 
men  fully  armed  and  equipped,  were  ready  for  departure  within 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  call  of  the  governor  was  received,  viz  : 
the  13th,  Col.  Woodward;  28th,  Col.  Bennett ;  23d,  Col.  Everdell ; 
47th,  Col.  Meserole;  52d,  Col.  Cole;  56th,  Col.  J.  Q.  Adams. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  j;,l 

Col.  Michael  Murphy,  under  authorization  ofthe  state  government, 

commenced  the  raising  of  a  new  regiment  called  the  Kings 
County  Volunteers. 

June  18th.  The  Brooklyn  Twenty-third  left  en  route  for  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  to  meet,  with  other  New  York  regiments,  the  rehel 
invasion  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  campaign  was  fortunately  a  blood- 
less one,  and  its  history  has  been  pleasantly  and  graphically 
narrated  in  book  form  by  one  of  its  members.1  By  the  last  of 
June,  all  the  militia  regiments,  except  the  70th,  had  left  the  <iuv. 

July  4th.  The  principal  celebration  of  this  day  was  by  an 
oration  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  under  the  auspices  ofthe  Long 
Island  Historical  Society.  Grenville  Tudor  Jenks,  Esq.,  was  the 
orator  of  the  day. 

July  13th.  The  great  draft  riots  broke  out  in  New  York 
city,  where,  for  three  days,  an  infuriated  mob  literally  held  the 
city  at  its  mercy,  defying  the  constituted  authorities,  reckless 
of  life  and  property,  raging  like  a  conflagration,  unchecked 
and  irresponsible,  striking  terror  to  the  souls  of  peaceable 
citizens,  suspending  all  business  and  travel,  burning  and  plunder- 
ing as  they  went.  All  this  was  caused  by  the  enforcement  ofthe 
draft  by  the  United  States  authorities.  The  Navy  Yard,  Arsenal, 
Armory,  etc.,  were  all  placed  in  readiness  for  any  attack  ;  a  large 
meeting  of  the  reserves  of  all  the  regiments  then  at  the  seat  of 
war  was  held  at  the  armory,  and  another  of  the  70th  Regiment, 
at  the  Arsenal,  at  both  of  which  gatherings,  arrangements  were 
made  to  furnish  volunteers  for  the  emergency,  whenever  required. 
A  regiment  of  exempts  organized  under  Col.  A.  M.  Wood;  and, 
(14th),  Capt.  Geo.  Chappel's  company,  (Co.  C),  1st  Battalion  of 
New  York  Artillery  went  over  to  New  York,  by  order,  to  do  duty  at 
the  Thirty-fifth  street  Arsenal.  A  large  body  of  police  was  kept 
in  reserve  at  the  City  Hall,  the  mayor  and  other  officials  remained 

1  Our  campaign  around  Gettysburg;  being  a  Memorial  of  what  teas  endured, 
suffered,  and  accomplished  by  the  Twenty-third  Regiment  (N.  T.  S.  N.  G.),  and  other 
regiments  associated  icitJi  them  in  their  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  campaign, 
during  the  second  rebel  invasion  of  the  loyal  states  in  June  and  July,  18G3.  "  Quae- 
que  ipse  niiserrima  vidi,  et  quorum  pars  *  *  *  fid."  Brooklyn:  A.  H.Rome  & 
Brothers,  stationers  and  printers,   No.  383  Fulton  street.     18G4. 


452  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

on  duty  during  the  night,  and  every  precaution  taken  to  guard 
against  any  outbreak  of  mob  violence,  and  to  keep  the  people 
from  undue  excitement.  Considerable  apprehension  was  felt  lest 
the  numerous  artisans  and  workmen  employed  at  Green-Point, 
and  in  the  manufactories  along  the  East  river  shore,  should  become 
uneasy,  and  participate  in  the  riotous  demonstrations,  which  were 
being  made  by  many  of  the  laboring  classes  in  New  York ;  but 
the  law  abiding  disposition  of  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  was 
shown  in  the  universal  observance  of  the  peace  throughout 
the  city.  A  few  trifling  manifestations  of  ill  will  to  the  negro 
were  exhibited,  but  the  ordinary  police  force  was  sufficient  to 
overawe  what  few  malcontents  there  were.  On  Wednesday 
night  (15th),  an  alarming,  act  of  incendiarism  showed  that  a 
danger  really  did  exist,  and  that  there  were  some  reckless  and 
desperate  characters  in  the  city  ripe  for  mischief.  Two  grain 
elevators  in  the  Atlantic  Basin  were  fired  by  a  mob,  numbering 
about  200  persons;  both  elevators  were  destroyed,  one  a  costly 
structure,  worth  about  $80,000  and  the  other  (floating)  about 
$25,000.  The  firemen  did  their  duty  nobly,  although  attacked 
and  obstructed  by  the  mob,  who  were  finally  dispersed  by  the 
police,  after  a  short,  but  fierce  encounter. 

Sheriff  A.  F.  Campbell,  on  the  15th,  issued  a  proclamation 
to  the  citizens,  recommending  them  to  organize  as  aposse  comitatus, 
for  the  securing  of  the  peace  of  the  city,  and  the  mayor,  after 
the  fire  at  the  Atlantic  Basin,  issued  an  address  congratulating 
his  fellow  citizens,  on  the  exemption  which  Brooklyn  had  enjoyed 
from  disturbance,  etc. ;  and  offering  a  suggestion  similar  to  that 
of  the  sheriff's,  relative  to  volunteer  police  service. 

While  the  excitement  at  New  York  was  at  its  height,  and  most 
of  the  citizens  of  that  city  and  of  the  surrounding  suburbs  were 
paralyzed  with  fear  of  excesses  which  seemed  to  have  no  limit,  or 
know  no  bounds,  a  gallant  band  of  men  was  organized  in  Brooklyn, 
who  rendezvoused  at  Gothic  Hall,  in  Adams  street.  The  city 
of  New  York  was  then  so  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  mob 
that  they  could  not  march  through  the  streets  without  being  in- 
evitably cut  to  pieces.  Each  one  of  the  organization,  therefore, 
made  his  way  through  the  crowded  streets  and  reported,  individu- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  4'/.) 

all}-,  at  the  State  Arsenal,  on  the  corner  of  Seventh  avenue  and 
Thirty-fifth  street,  where  Major  Gen.  Bandford  was  in  command. 
The  Arsenal,  which  contained  an  immense  quantity  of  arms, 
ammunition  and  equipments,  was  the  object  of  especial  attack  by 
the  rioters  who  had  robbed  all  the  gunshops  which  they  could  find, 
and  who  needed  muskets.  Lines  had  been  drawn  around  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  edifice,  which  was  guarded  by  such 
skeleton  companies  of  troops  as  happened  to  be  in  the  city  at  the 
time;  and  which,  together  with  the  Third  State  Cavalry  under 
command  of  Col.  Postley,  constituted  the  entire  protection  of  this 
important  point.  The  Brooklyn  boys  were  most  gladly  welcomed, 
and  immediately  assigned  to  duty  in  guarding  the  prisoners  which 
had  been  taken,  and  in  doing  guard  duty  on  the  outpost  lines  of 
the  building.  Several  determined  attacks  were  made  upon  the 
edifice  by  the  rioters,  but  repulsed,  although  not  without  some  loss 
to  the  brave  defenders.-  We  regret  that  we  have  not  the  names 
of  these  Brooklyn  Volunteers.  By  the  18th,  however,  the  riot 
was  suppressed,  and  the  community  once  more  breathed  free ; 
although  during  the  month  of  August,  the  entire  Eleventh  Brigade 
and  the  two  remaining  regiments  (13th  and  28th)  of  the  Fifth  Bri- 
gade did  guard  duty  in  the  city,  at  an  expense  of  three  to  four 
thousand  dollars  per  day. 

September.  The  draft  was  enforced  in  this  county,  comprising 
the  Second  and  Third  Districts.  The  Second  District  (the  6th,  8th, 
9th,  10th,  12th,  14th,  16th,  17th,  and  18th  wards,  together  with 
New  Lotts,  Flatlands,  Flatbush,  New  Utrecht  and  Gravesend), 
was  called  on  for  a  quota  of  3,075,  including  the  fifty  per  cent  in 
addition  required  by  law  to  supply  the  place  of  exempts  from 
physical  disability.  The  grand  total  of  persons  of  the  first  class, 
liable  to  conscription,  in  the  district,  was  21,553,  the  draft  requir- 
ing one  in  every  seven  of  those  enrolled.  The  quota  of  the  Third 
District  (1st,  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  7th,  11th,  13th,  15th,  19th  and 
20th  wards),  was  4,054,  including  the  fifty  per  cent  additional,  as 
above  stated. 

The  common  council  voted  to  raise  500,000,  to  apply  to  the  ex- 
emption of  exempt  and  active  firemen  (including  the  members  of 
the  department  prior  to  July   1st) ;  all  members  of  state  militia 


454  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

4 

belonging  to  the  Second  Division,  N.  G-.  S.  N".  Y.  enrolled  prior 
to  July  1st;  300  to  the  family,  as  a  commutation  fee,  or  for  sub- 
stitute for  any  drafted  man  dependent  on  his  daily  labor  for  sup- 
port ;  and  if  he  went  himself  to  service,  four  dollars  per  week 
would  be  given  to  the  wife,  and  one  dollar  to  every  child  under 
fourteen  years  of  age.  Afterwards,  however,  in  consequence  of 
the  difficulty  experienced  in  raising  the  money,  the  authorities 
were  obliged  to  omit  firemen  and  militiamen  from  the  benefits  of 
their  substitute  fund. 

Sept.  5th.  The  ladies  of  South  Brooklyn  entertained  the  110th 
Ohio  Volunteers  encamped  near  Carroll  Park. 

Sept.  14th.  The  Park  Theatre  was  opened  by  Mr.  Gabriel 
Harrison. 

October.  A  new  call  for  300,000  men.  Mr.  S.  B.  Chittenden 
offered  the  sum  of  $10,000  for  200  volunteers  under  this  call  for 
the  14th  Regiment.  The  Second  District  quota  was  3,034  and 
that  of  the  Third  District,  2,343. 

November  2d.  The  charter  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
Alfred  M.  Wood,  by  13,123  votes,  out  of  a  poll  of  28,797,  his 
competitors  being  Prince  and  Kalbfleisch. 

November  11th.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors of  Kings  county,  in  consequence  of  a  new  call  for 
troops,  it  was  resolved  to  borrow  the  sum  of  $250,000,  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  a  $300  bounty  to  each  substitute  enlisting  in 
the  county,  before  the  5th  of  January,  1864,  or  before  another 
draft  should  be  ordered.  This  measure,  which  seemed  to  be 
rendered  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  recruits  from  this  county 
being  drawn  to  other  localities  by  the  bounties  offered,  was  imme- 
diately carried  into  effect  under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  of 
the  board,  consisting  of  Supervisors  Shearon,  Booth,  Cheshire, 
Bloom,  Stillwell  and  Osborne,  acting  in  conjunction  with  the 
county  treasurer.  By  subsequent  action  of  the  board,  Supervisors 
Little  and  McGrath  were  added  to  the  committee,  which  organized 
for  business,  by  the  appointment  of  Supervisor  Osborne  as  chairman 
and  Supervisor  Booth  as  treasurer,  and  established  their  head- 
quarters at  'No.  365  Fulton  street;  where,  on  the  18th,  they  com- 
menced the  payment  of  $300  to  each  recruit.     This  county  bounty, 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  455 

in  all  but  a  few  exceptional  cases,  \va-  paid  directly  to  the  recruit 
himself,  a  measure  for  which  the  committee,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
were  severely  denounced  by  bounty  brokers  and  others  interested, 
but  in  which  they  were  upheld  by  many  prominent  eiti/ens  and 
by  general  public  sentiment. 

Supervisors  Cheshire,  Stillwell  and  McGrath  were  subsequently 
appointed  a  subcommittee  to  disburse  the  county  bounty  at  the 
office  of  the  provost  marshal,  in  the  Eastern  District. 

December  23d  and  24th.  The  Ladies  Loyal  League  of  South 
Brooklyn  held  a  fair  at  the  Athenaeum,  for  the  benefit  of  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  through  the  United  States  Sanitary  Com- 
mission. 

1864.  January  1st.  The  new  mayor,  Col.  A.  M.  Wood,  assumed 
the  duties  of  his  office. 

Colonel  Alfred  M.  Wood,  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  is  a 
native  of  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  where  he  was  born  on  the  19th  day  of  April, 
1828.  He  has  resided  in  this  city  many  years,  having  removed  here  at  an 
early  age,  and  has  since  been  identified  with  its  history.  He  was  for  some  time 
a  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  late  Elijah  Lewis,  a  well  known  and  much  re- 
spected merchant,  with  whom  he  afterward  formed  a  partnership.  Subse- 
quently Colonel  Wood  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account,  but  com- 
mercial reverses  compelled  him  to  resume  the  position  of  clerk. 

Colonel  Wood  entered  political  life  in  1853,  as  the  democratic  candidate 
for  collector  of  taxes.  Although  his  party  was  defeated,  such  was  Colonel 
Wood's  position  in  the  good  opinion  of  his  fellow  citizens,  he  was  elected 
by  six  hundred  majority.  He  served  the  public  faithfully  during  a  term  of 
three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  reelected  by  an  iucreased  majority. 
In  1861  he  was  selected  as  the  representative  of  the  First  ward  in  the  board  of 
aldermen,  of  which  he  was  chosen  the  presiding  officer. 

At  this  time  the  Southern  Rebellion  culminated  in  armed  resistance  to 
the  authority  of  the  government,  and  the  war  began,  with  the  earlier  scenes 
of  which  Colonel  Wood's  name  is  so  honorably  associated.  Among  the 
military  organizations  that  hastened  to  offer  their  services  for  the  defense  of 
the  country,  and  for  maintaining  the  honor  to  the  flag,  was  the  14th  Regiment, 
New  York  State  Militia.  Of  this  regiment,  organized  in  1848,  Col.  Wood 
was  at  this  time,  the  commandant. 

Our  citizens  well  remember  the  promptness  with  which  the  Fourteenth 
was  put  in  readiness  to  take  the  field,  and  the  enthusiastic  impatience  of  the 


456  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

members  to  depart  for  the  scene  of  actual  warfare.  Their  colonel,  who  re- 
signed h'is  position  as  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  was  indefatigable 
in  his  efforts  to  prepare  the  regiment  for  service,  and  to  obtain  from 
the  government  its  immediate  acceptance.  Although  other  local  regi- 
ments were  accepted  for  the  term  of  three  months,  the  war  department  de- 
clined to  receive  the  Fourteenth,  except  for  three  years  or  the  war.  This 
condition  was  acceded  to,  and  on  the  19th  of  May,  1861,  as  the  shadows  of 
evening  were  gathering  over  the  city,  the  regiment  marched  through  the 
streets  lined  with  thousands,  who  cheered  it  God  speed  on  its  errand  of 
honor,  and  went  to  the  front. 

On  the  memorable  day  of  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  the  21st  of  July, 
the  regiment  with  the  brigade  to  which  it  was  attached  in  the  division  of 
General  Hunter,'  marched  from  Centerville  j  reaching  the  field  about  eleven 
o'clock,  and  going  at  once  into  action,  and  remaining  under  fire  six  hours. 
The  men  behaved  with  great  coolness  and  gallantry,  and  the  colonel  was 
conspicuous  for  bravery.  Four  times  did  they  charge  the  enemy  up  a  hill, 
in  the  face  of  a  terrific  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry,  Colonel  Wood 
leading  them.  The  loss  of  the  regiment  at  this  point  was  very  severe,  143 
being  killed,  wounded,  or  reported  missing.  The  colonel  was  severely 
wounded  just  at  the  time  that  the  fearful  panic  began,  which  ended  in  a 
disastrous  rout. 

Colonel  Wood  was  carried  some  distance  on  a  litter  and  afterwards  placed 
in  an  ambulance,  the  driver  of  which,  as  the  retreating  flood  swept  onward, 
cut  the  traces  and  fled  for  his  life.  With  the  assistance  of  some  members 
of  his  regiment,  the  colonel  succeeded  in  reaching  the  woods,  where  they 
remained  four  days,  living  on  blackberries,  when  they  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Eighteenth  Virginia  Regiment.  The  colonel  was  removed  to  Charlottes- 
ville, where  he  remained  some  months,  and  partially  recovered.  He  was 
then  taken  to  Richmond,  and  shared  the  imprisonment  of  Gen.  Corcoran 
and  other  brave  Union  soldiers.  The  hardships  to  which  the  Union  prison- 
ers were  subjected  at  Richmond,  have  often  been  detailed ;  but  through 
all,  Colonel  Wood  showed  the  true  gallantry  and  spirit  of  a  soldier  in  the 
prison  as  well  as  on  the  field. 

In  the  meantime  great  anxiety  was  felt  in  Brooklyn  as  to  his  fate.  It 
was  reported  at  one  time  that  he  was  killed  at  Bull  Run.  Again  it  was 
rumored  that  he  had  been  taken  prisoner,  and  suffered  amputation  of  the 
leg.  When  it  was  ascertained  that  neither  of  these  reports  was  true,  the 
public  was  startled  by  another,  to  the  effect  that  he  and  others  were  held  as 
hostages,  to  be  executed  in  retaliation  for  the  execution  of  the  Rebel  pirates. 
This  last  report  was  well  founded.     How  determined  Col.  Wood  was  to  meet 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKM  \  457 

boldly  any  fate  in  store  for  him,  and  to  give  his  life  cheerfully  to  his  country, 
if  it  was  demanded,  is  shown  by  his  speech  to  his  regiment  on  rejoining 
them  at  Upton  hill,  after  his  release  from  captivity,      lie  then  >ai<l  : 

"This,  soldiers  of  the  old  Fourteenth,  is  one  of  two  eventful  moment-  "i* 
my  life,  which  I  shall  ever  look  back  upon  with  the  happiest  reflections. 
The  first  was  that  upon  the  occasion  wheu  I  was  taken  from  Henrico  county 
jail,  at  Richmond,  and  in  company  with  Col.  Corcoran,  was  taken  before 
the  military  authorities,  to  meet  the  issue  presented  in  the  question  of  re- 
taliation, which  at  that  time  was  under  consideration  with  the  rebel  autho- 
rities, and  which  involved  the  execution  of  myself  and  others.  The  honor 
I  considered  as  having  fallen  to  my  lot,  was  one  which  every  true  American 
should  be  proud  of — the  chosen  sacrifice  of  a  country  and  a  cause  like  our 
own." 

At  length  a  change  was  effected,  and  Colonel  Wood  was  released  from 
rebel  imprisonment  in  the  latter  part  of  February,  1862. 

The  citizens  of  Brooklyn  were  of  course  anxious  to  give  public  expression 
to  their  appreciation  of  the  gallantry  with  which  Colonel  Wood  had  repre- 
sented them  on  the  field  of  battle  and  the  manner  in  which  he  had  sustained 
the  patriotic  character  of  the  city,  during  his  long  captivity.  Appropriate 
resolutions  were  passed  by  the  board  of  aldermen,  and  it  was  determined 
that  a  committee  of  the  board  should  proceed  to  Philadelphia  to  meet  their 
absent  president,  whose  place  had  been  so  long  and  honorably  vacant.  A 
meeting  of  citizens  was  also  held,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  cooperate  with 
the  city  authorities.  The  joint  committee  met  the  colonel  at  Philadelphia, 
and  brought  him  to  his  own  city,  where  a  brilliant  reception  awaited  him. 
Arriving  in  Brooklyn,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Colonel  Wood  and  his 
party  could  make  their  way  from  the  ferry,  through  the  enthusiastic  crowds 
of  people  that  thronged  the  streets.  A  speech  of  welcome  was  made  by  G-.  T. 
Jenks,  Esq.,  and  responded  to  by  the  colonel.  A  procession  was  then  formed, 
under  General  Spinola,  as  grand  marshal,  in  which  the  city  government, 
the  military,  the  fire  department,  Masons,  Odd-Fellows,  and  other  societies, 
and  the  citizens  generally  were  well  represented.  Aloug  the  line  of  march 
the  sidewalks  were  thronged,  windows  of  houses  and  all  places  from  which 
a  view  could  be  had  were  occupied.  Flags  flew  from  every  staff,  handker- 
chiefs were  waved  by  fair  hands,  and  cheer  after  cheer  went  up  as  the  noble 
leader  of  the  gallant  Fourteenth  passed.  Another  ovation  awaited  him  at 
the  City  Hall,  where  he  was  formally  welcomed  by  the  mayor.  The  recep- 
tion, throughout,  was  one  of  the  most  impressive  and  memorable  demonstra- 
tions ever  made  in  this  city.  All  classes  of  people  united  to  do  honor  to  a 
distinguished  citizen  whose  name  was  inseparably  connected  with  some  of 

58 


458  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  most  important  and  stirring  events  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Nor 
were  the  demonstrations  confined  to  Brooklyn.  The  people  of  Brushville, 
where  the  colonel  joined  his  estimable  lady,  were  alive  with  enthusiasm,  and 
a  reception  was  given  him  such  as  the  quiet  towns  of  Long  Island  rarely 
witness. 

It  was  Colonel  Wood's  intention  to  rejoin  his  regiment  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment,  but  impaired  health  and  consequent  physical  disability 
compelled  him  to  abandon  his  purpose.  Some  time  afterwards  he  was 
appointed  by  the  president,  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  Second 
District.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1863,  he  was  nominated  for  the 
mayoralty  by  the  Union  city  convention ;  and,  at  the  polls,  the  people 
elected  him  to  that  position.  In  a  poll  of  28,312  he  received  12,672,  being 
1,728  over  Benjamin  Prince,  and  7,976  over  Martin  Kalbfleisch,  an  honor 
the  more  marked  and  gratifying  to  the  recipient  of  it  because  it  was  unsought. 
Opposed  to  him  in  the  canvass  was  a  gentleman  who  had  the  support  of  a 
powerful  party,  having  a  majority  in  the  city  j  but  the  contest  was  a  fair 
one,  and  Colonel  Wood  owed  his  success  to  the  use  of  no  means  on  his 
part  except  those  entirely  consistent  with  the  rules  of  honorable  political 
warfare. 

1864.  January.  Mr.  S.  B.  Chittenden  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  special  committee  of  the  board  of  supervisors  on  substitute 
bounty  fund,  the  sum  of  ten  thousaDd  dollars,  to  be  disbursed  in 
sums  of  $50,  to  recruits  who  should  enlist  in  the  Brooklyn  Four- 
teenth, all  of  which  was  so  disbursed,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
the  generous  donor. 

January  2d.  The  special  committee  on  substitute  bounty  fund 
were  authorized  to  pay  $15  premium  for  each  recruit  enlisted, 
and  credited  to  the  quota  of  Kings  county  ;  said  sum  being  paid 
to  the  party  presenting  the  recruit.  This  premium,  however, 
was  not  paid  to  recruits  for  veteran  regiments. 

January  6th.  The  First  Long  Island  Regiment  (Brooklyn 
Phalanx),  Col.  Nelson  Cross,  returned  on  a  short  furlough,  after 
an  absence  of  nearly  two  years  and  a  half,  during  which  they  had 
participated  in  fourteen  battles ;  234  men  alone  returned,  out  of 
the  1,000  who  went  forth  to  the  war,  and  they  had  all  reenlisted 
for  the  war.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  met  with  a  cordial 
welcome  home;  were    escorted,  by  the    28th  New  York    State 


BISTORT  OF  BROOKLYN.  459 

National  Guard,  to  the  City  Hall,  where  they  were  addressed  by 

the  mayor  and  common  council,  and  partook  of  a  collation  pre- 
pared for  them. 

February  2d  and  4th.  Two  amateur  dramatic  entertainments 
at  the  Athenamm,  in  aid  of  the  United  Sanitary  Commission, 
produced  the  sum  of  $1,000. 

February  22d.  A  national  and  state  flag,  both  of  silk,  with 
rosewood  staffs  and  silver  mountings,  with  the  inscription-,  were 
this  day  presented  to  the  23d  Regiment,  New  York  State  National 
Guard,  by  the  ladies  of  Brooklyn.  The  presentation  took  place 
in  front  of  Mr.  S.  B.  Chittenden's  residence,  in  Pierrepont  street, 
addresses  being  made  by  that  gentleman,  the  Rev.  Francis  Vinton, 
D.D.,  and  Brig.  Gen.  Pratt,  the  colonel  commanding  the  regi- 
ment. 

This  day,  also,  was  signalized  by  the  opening  of  the  great 
Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Fair  —  an  event  which  is  not  only 
memorable  in  the  civic  annals  as  a  magnificent  exhibition  of 
patriotism ;  but,  as  being,  in  fact,  the  initial  point  of  a  new  civic 
life  and  progress  —  previously  undreamed  of. 

The  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Fair  resulted  from  the  joint  efforts  of 
the  War  Fund  Committee  of  Brooklyn  and  County  of  Kings  (acting  through 
its  sanitary  eomniittee)  and  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Association  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn,  recognized  as  the  Brooklyn  Auxiliary  of  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commission,  and  to  which  the  sanitary  committee  of  the  War  Fund 
was  advisory.  An  appeal  made,  in  May,  1863,  by  the  War  Fund  sanitary 
committee  to  the  churches  of  Brooklyn,  asking  cash  contributions  for  the 
purchase  of  materials  for  hospital  clothing,  to  be  made  up  by  the  families  of 
our  soldiers  in  the  field,  through  the  agency  of  the  Female  Employment 
Society,1  placed  about  86,000  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  which  proved 
an  ample  provision  for  the  summer.  In  the  following  autumn  it  was  found 
that  the  Woman's  Belief  Association,  during  its  first  year,  had  turned  into  the 
depot  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  hospital  clothing,  etc.,  to  the  value  of 
nearly  $50,000.  It  became  a  serious  question  with  the  committee  whether 
fresh  appeals  should  be  made  to  the  churches,  or  whether  some  new  plans 

treated  long  before  the  war  for  the  object  which  its  name  indicates;  and  which 
proved  itself  a  most  efficient  colaborer  with  those  special  organizations  which  had 
their  origin  in  the  war. 


460  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

could  be  devised  by  which  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  could  be  brought  into 
active  and  efficient  sympathy  with  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Associa- 
tion for  the  winter  of  1863-4.  Early  in  October,  the  plan  of  a  great  fair 
for  the  city  was  suggested  by  Mr.  James  H.  Frothingham,  one  of  the  War 
Fund  committee.  After  conference  with  Dr.  Bellows,  president  of  the 
United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  and  others,  the  Sanitary  Committee 
broached  the  subject  (November  6th)  to  the  Woman's  Relief  Association, 
in  the  form  of  a  general  plan  for  a  great  city  fair,  which  it  was  thought 
might  realize  the  sum  of  75  to  $80,000,  for  the  United  States  Sanitary  Com- 
mission. But  it  was  feared  that  our  local  charities,  whose  annual  fairs  were 
already  being  prepared  for,  might  suffer  too  seriously  by  such  an  undertaking, 
and  the  matter,  for  the  present,  was  laid  over.  Meanwhile,  on  the  14th  of 
the  same  month,  the  ladies  of  New  York,  under  the  auspices  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  announced  by  a  circular  the  project  of  a  great 
Metropolitan  Fair,  to  begin  in  that  city  on  the  22d  of  February,  1864 ;  and 
the  cooperation  of  the  Brooklyn  ladies  was  invited,  a  department  of  the 
fair  being  assigned  to  this  city.  On  the  20th  of  November,  the  Woman's 
Relief  Association  decided  to  unite  in  the  work,  as  the  Brooklyn  Division 
of  the  Metropolitan  Fair;  leaving  open,  however,  the  question  as  to  which 
city  the  said  Brooklyn  Division  would  carry  on  their  work  in.  At  a  special 
meeting  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Association  on  the  24th,  it  was  determined,  in 
anticipation  of  the  great  fair,  to  increase  the  representation  from  the  respective 
churches;  and,  on  the  4th  of  December,  a  large  meeting  of  the  association 
was  held  at  the  chapel  of  the  Packer  Institute,  Mrs.  J.  S.  T.  Stranahan 
presiding,  and  the  project  of  an  independent  fair  was  developed  by  the 
secretary  of  the  sanitary  committee  of  the  War  Fund,  who  said  that  Brooklyn 
as  a  city  of  three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  should  make  itself  felt  and 
appreciated,  and  accomplish  as  much  relatively  as  the  city  of  New  York. 
Measures  for  the  enlargement  of  membership  of  the  executive  board  of  the 
Woman's  Relief  Association,and  for  the  cooperation  of  theWar  Fund  committee 
were  adopted,  and  enthusiastic  speeches  were  delivered  by  Rev.  Drs.  Budding- 
ton,  Farley  and  Spear,  the  latter  of  whom  ventured  a  prediction  (which  many 
then  deemed  a  little  "  wild  ")  that  the  fair  would  realize  as  high  as  $150,000. 
On  the  evening  of  the  5th,  a  meeting  of  the  War  Fund  Committee  was  held 
at  their  rooms,  which  was  attended  by  about  a  hundred  persons  of  recognized 
influence  in  the  community,  and  it  was  resolved  that  a  committee  of  sixty 
gentlemen  be  appointed  as  a  general  committee,  with  power  to  add  to  their 
number,  for  the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  the  Woman's  Relief  Associa- 
tion in  arranging  for  and  conducting  the  Brooklyn  division  of  the  Great 
Metropolitan  Fair.     This  committee  organized  the  same  evening,  with  Mr. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  461 

A.  A.  Low  as  president,  and  went  vigorously  to  work.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Woman's  Relief  Association  on  December  18th,  the  spirit  vrafl  found  to  be 
rising,  and  under  the  inspiration  of  the  glowing  remarks  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  and  others,  it  soon  ran  up  to  fever  heat.  Notices  were  sent  to  the 
sewing  societies  of  the  various  churches  and  to  the  towns  and  villages  of 
Long  Island,  asking  their  cooperation  in  the  Brooklyn  Division  of  the  great 
fair,  and  the  response,  from  every  quarter,  was  prompt  and  cordial. 

On  the  evening  of  December  19th,  a  meeting  of  the  War  Fund  Com- 
mittee was  held  at  the  Chapel  of  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  Mr.  A.  A.  Low 
presiding,  and  Ex-Mayor  Lambert  acting  as  secretary.  An  advisory  board 
of  twenty-nine  gentlemen  was  appointed,  of  which  Dwight  Johnson  was 
was  chairman,  who  were  empowered  to  cooperate  with  the  Woman's  Relief 
Association,  in  the  conduct  of  the  Brooklyn  division  of  the  Metropolitan 
Fair ;  Rev.  Dr.  Farley  made  a  report  of  his  recent  visit  to  the  Boston  Fair, 
then  in  progress,  and  earnest  speeches  were  made  by  Dwight  Johnson.  Esq., 
Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler,  A.  A.  Low,  and  Walter  S.  Griffith,  Esqrs.  Mr.  John 
D.  McKenzie  then  made  an  effective  speech,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  he 
elicited  was  brought  to  a  climax  when  he  subscribed  81,000  to  the  objects 
of  the  fair.  Amid  the  tumultuous  applause  which  ensued,  Mr.  A.  A.  Low 
followed  with  his  subscription  of  $2,500;  and  then,  in  rapid  succession,  the 
$1,000  and  $500  subscriptions  flowed  in  until  825,500  had  been  pledged, 
and  Mr.  S.  B.  Chittenden,  in  addition  to  his  81.000  contribution,  offered  a 
pair  of  Devon  steers,  from  his  farm  in  Connecticut,  which  he  promised  to 
"make  as  fat  as  possible  on  Yankee  corn,"  before  the  fair  opened.  This 
great  meeting  "  drove  the  nail  and  clinched  it."  On  the  following  day,  the 
list  of  contributions  was  swelled  to  $29,750  ;  and,  before  the  end  of  December 
the  subscription  had  reached  a  point  of  over  $50,000,  through  the  activity 
of  the  chairmen  of  the  several  special  committees.  By  this  time,  the 
managers  of  the  New  lTork  side  of  the  Metropolitan  Fair  had  felt  obliged 
to  postpone  its  opening  from  February  22d  to  the  28th  of  March ;  but  the 
Brooklynites  felt  that  it  would  be  bad  policy  for  them  to  accede  to  anv 
postponement.  The  enthusiasm  was  at  its  height;  the  22d  of  February 
was  hallowed  and  heart-stirring  in  its  associations,  and  these  could  not  be 
ignored  or  lost;  accordingly,  at  the  regular  weekly  meeting  of  the  Woman's 
Relief  Association,  December  30th,  it  was  resolved  that  Brooklyn  should 
proceed  without  regard  to  the  arrangements  of  New  lrork,  and  that  the 
fair  should  open  on  February  22d.  Brooklyn,  having  thus  fearlessly  cut 
loose  from  leading  strings,  found  that  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  the  work. 
The  Academy  of  Music  was  engaged ;  arrangements  rapidly  matured  for 
other  buildings,  as  the  case  might  require,  and  the  city  became,  throughout 


462  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

all  classes  of  the  people,  intent,  energetic  and  enthusiastic  to  the  highest 
degree  in  preparation  for  the  noble  undertaking  which  they  had  assumed. 
A  public  meeting  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1864, 
was  held ;  the  managers  of  the  fair  received  from  the  municipal  authorities, 
permission  to  erect  the  necessary  temporary  buildings,  and  on  the  19th  the 
committee  on  internal  arrangements  and  reception  of  goods  announced  that 
they  were  ready  to  receive  donations  of  goods,  produce,  etc.,  etc.  On  the 
same  evening,  Green-Point  was  stirred  to  its  core  by  a  rousing  public  meet- 
ing, on  behalf  of  the  fair;  on  the  21st  the  town  of  Flatbush  had  an  earnest 
public  meeting,  and  the  good  people  of  the  Island  were  not  behind  hand 
in  their  preparation  for  the  coming  event  j  public  meetings  being  held  in 
most  of  the  towns,  efficient  committees  appointed,  and  every  energy  used  to 
bring  out  a  handsome  representation  for  the  Island  on  the  occasion. 

In  addition  to  the  Academy  of  Music,  two  temporary  structures  were 
erected  for  the  fair,  one  on  a  lot  (the  use  of  which  was  loaned  by  Mr.  A.  A. 
Low),  adjoining  the  Academy  on  the  west,  to  be  68  by  100  feet  and  two 
stories  high ;  the  other  on  a  lot  opposite  the  Academy  (loaned  for  the  pur- 
pose by  Mrs.  Packer),  to  be  100  feet  square  and  one  story  high.  The  first 
of  these  buildings  was  to  be  occupied  by  the  restaurant,  and  was  called 
Knickerbocker  Hall,  and  the  latter  (which  communicated  with  the  Academy 
by  a  covered  bridge  thrown  across  Montague  street,  at  a  sufficient  height 
not  to  interfere  with  public  travel),  was  called  the  Hall  of  Manufactures,  and 
the  New  England  Kitchen.  The  large  building  on  the  north-east  corner  of 
Montague  and  Clinton  streets,  known  as  the  Taylor  mansion,  was  also 
engaged  for  the  fair;  and  in  it  was  located  the  Museum  of  Arts,  Relics  and 
Curiosities,  and  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  Drum-Beat,  the  newspaper  issued 
during  the  fair.  The  Academy  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  goods  from 
February  15th  to  18th  inclusive,  and  the  vast  influx  of  donations,  astonished 
even  those  who  were  best  informed  of  the  progress  of  the  work. 

At  three  P.  M.  of  February  22d  (Washington's  birthday)  the  fair  was  in- 
augurated by  a  grand  parade  of  the  entire  military  force  of  the  city,  including 
veterans  and  soldiers  of  volunteer  regiments  at  home  on  furlough,  together 
with  the  United  States  marines  from  the  Navy  Yard.  At  seven  o'clock 
p.  M.,  the  fair  was  first  opened  to  the  public.  The  Great  Central  Bazaar, 
for  the  sale  of  articles  for  the  fair,  was  held  in  the  Academy  building,  the 
grand  floor  of  which  was  boarded  over,  level  with  the  stage,  making  a 
magnificent  hall,  with  an  area  of  10,570  square  feet,  and,  with  the  second 
floor  and  lobbies  a  total  area  of  20,300  square  feet.  The  decorations  of  the 
Academy  were  very  beautiful,  and  their  patriotic  nature  was  in  fine  keeping 
with  the  character  of  the  great  enterprise.     From  the  centre  of  the  audi- 


HIST0R1   OF  BBOOKL1  N  463 

torium  ceiling  was  suspended,  by  invisible  wires,  an  American  eagle,  which 

seemed  to  hover  in  mid-air  over  the  majestic  scene  below.  Prom  the  apei 
of  the  column  of  drapery  sprang  radiating  bands  of  red,  white  and  blue 
banting,  which,  stretching  in  graceful  curves  until  they  touched  the  pillars 
of  the  amphitheatre,  were  thence  twined,  and  drooped,  and  festooned  around 
the  whole  circle  of  the  building.  Above  the  arch  of  the  stage,  in  letters 
formed  of  tiny  jets  of  gas,  blazed  the  inscription  "In  Union  is  STRENGTH." 
The  back  wall  of  the  stage  was  completely  screened  by  a  mammoth  painting 
of  a  field  hospital  tent  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  with  nurses, 
wounded  soldiers,  etc.  The  rough  wood  work  above  the  side  scenes  was 
skillfully  concealed  by  draperies  of  white  and  colored  muslin,  and  flags  were 
everywhere  displayed  in  profusion.  The  huge  crimson  drop-curtain  was 
caught  up  and  stretched  along  the  ceiling  of  the  stage,  thus  hiding  its  rude 
surface,  and  giving  at  the  same  time  a  brilliaut  effect.  Many  elegant  paint- 
ings were  also  displayed  in  the  auditorium,  while  the  superb  afghans,  and 
many  colored  quilts,  with  which  the  vast  building  was  fairly  tapestried, 
added  their  vivid  splendor  to  the  effect  of  the  tout  ensemble.  When  the 
magnificent  building  was  flooded  at  night  with  the  splendor  of  a  thousand 
gas  jets,  it  presented  a  spectacle  which  was  nothing  less  than  enchanting. 
The  stalls  of  the  ground  floor  were  arranged  in  concentric  arcs  of  circles, 
leaving  a  large  space  in  the  centre  of  the  building  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  crowd.  The  goods,  as  far  as  practicable,  were  admirably  separated  into 
classes,  and  an  effective  system  of  ushers  was  adopted,  which  prevented  con- 
fusion at  the  entrances,  etc.  In  the  family  circle,  Dodworth's  band  or  the  Navy 
Yard  band  furnished  exquisite  music  every  night,  so  long  as  the  fair  lasted. 

In  the  assembly  room  of  the  Academy  was  located  the  art  gallery,  where 
were  contained,  in  the  opinion  of  connoisseurs,  more  works  of  real  merit 
than  any  which  had  been  offered  to  the  public  for  many  years.  One  hundred 
and  seventy-four  paintings  and  sketches  and  several  statues  were  exhibited 
under  the  management  of  the  artists  of  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island. 

In  Knickerbocker  hall,  one  of  the  temporary  structures  before  mentioned, 
was  a  huge  salle  a  manger,  a  triumph  of  decorative  art,  supplied  with  all 
the  appliances  of  a  first  class  restaurant,  where  the  thousands  of  visitors  were 
constantly  fed,  by  a  systematic  arrangemeut  of  donations  of  eatables,  etc., 
from  the  churches  of  Brooklyn,  and  from  the  towns  of  Long  Island,  which 
provided  seven-eighths  of  the  daily  demands  of  the  establishment.  Five  hun- 
dred persons  could  be  comfortably  accommodated  at  one  time  in  this  great 
restaurant,  which  netted  the  fair  the  splendid  sum  of  nearly  824,000. 

In  the  other  temporary  structure,  before  mentioned,  as  on  the  opposite 
side  of  Montague  street  (present  site  of  the  Mercantile  Library)  was  the 


464  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

funny  feature  of  the  fair,  The  New  England  Kitchen  —  reproducing,  in  all 
its  detail,  the  Yankee  farm  house  life  of  the  last  century.  In  this  large  room 
(40X75)  all  tne  furniture  and  appointments  were,  as  nearly  as  it  was  possi- 
ble to  have  them,  veritable  antiques.  In  one  corner  were  several  ancient  spin- 
ning wheels,  kept  constantly  in  vigorous  motion  by  venerable  matrons,  with 
their  starched  caps  and  snowy  kerchiefs  crossed  over  the  bosoms  of  their  stuff 
gowns ;  then  there  was  the  dresser  with  its  rows  of  shining  pewter ;  the  ever 
ready  churn,  the  tall  clock  sedately  ticking  in  the  corner ;  the  ridge  poles 
strung  with  dried  apples,  pumpkins,  glittering  red  peppers,  seed-bags,  and 
yarbs  of  healing  virtues  —  and,  above  all,  the  huge  open  fire-place  with 
its  mighty  logs,  and  the  traditional  trammel,  from  which  swung  a  gigantic 
pot,  in  which  from  time  to  time,  were  cooked  great  messes  of  unctuous 
chowder,  or  mush;  while,  from  the  ovens  at  the  side,  emerged  spicy 
Indian  puddings,  smoking  loaves  of  Boston  brown  bread  and  huge  delicious 
dishes  of  pork  and  beans.  On  the  long  tables  were  bountiful  supplies  of 
old  fashioned  victuals,  with  cider,  pumpkin,  mince  and  apple  pies,  dough- 
nuts, etc.  ;  while  the  guests  were  waited  upon  by  pretty  damsels  with  curious 
names  and  quaint  attire.  During  the  continuance  of  the  fair,  the  New 
England  Kitchen  was  the  scene  of  a  series  of  novel  entertainments,  repro- 
ducing some  of  the  peculiar  social  customs  of  our  ancestors,  such  as  the 
old  folk's  concert,  the  donation  visit,  the  quilting  party,  the  apple  bee, 
and  the  wedding,  all  of  which  were  admirably  planned  and  carried  out. 
The  kitchen  was  constantly  filled  by  an  amused  and  delighted  crowd. 

Under  the  same  roof  with  the  kitchen  was  the  Hall  of  Manufactures,  in 
the  centre  of  which  hung  a  mammoth  broom,  forwarded  from  Cincinnati  to 
the  fair,  with  the  following  challenge  to  Brooklyn  :  "  Sent  by  the  managers 
of  the  Cincinnati  fair,  greeting:  We  have  swept  up  $240,000;  Brooklyn, 
beat  this  if  you  can."  To  this,  as  soon  as  the  magnificent  result  of  our  fair 
began  to  loom  up  so  that  an  approximate  estimate  could  be  made,  some 
sporting  member  of  the  committee  on  manufactures  appended  the  following 
addenda;  "Brooklyn  sees  the  $240,000,  and  goes  $150,000  better/' 

In  the  Taylor  Mansion  was  improvised  a  collection  of  relics,  curiosities, 
etc.,  such  as  would  have  delighted  the  heart  of  Scott's  Antiquary,  or 
excited  the  envy  of  a  Barnum.  In  the  same  building  was  a  gallery  of  en- 
gravings, the  largest  and  finest  collection  ever  brought  together  in  this 
country  ;  a  splendid  collection  of  Japanese,  Chinese  and  Eastern  curiosities  ; 
a  room  devoted  to  the  sale  of  photographs,  and  another  to  that  of  autographs. 
In  the  upper  story  of  the  building  was  the  editorial  room  of  the  Drum-Beat, 
issued  daily  (commencing  Feb.  22d),  under  the  editorship  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Storrs,  and  his  associate,  Mr.  Francis  Williams,  of  the  New  York  Evening 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  N.  465 

Post.  Each  number  contained  twenty-four  wide  columns,  of  elegant  typo- 
graphical appearance,  and  the  first  pane  borf  an  appropriate  title-vignette. 
The  last  regular  number  appeared  March  5th,  and  a  supplementary  number 
vafl    issued   on   the  11th.     A  small  but  choice  Cattle  Show  completed   the 

departments  of  the  fair,  at  which  the  Chittenden  steers  were  Bold  at  auction 
for  $295,  and  a  splendid  Durham  bull,  presented  by  Eliae   Howe,  Jr.,  vat 

sold  by  shares  for  8500. 

The  fair  was  closed  by  a  grand  calico  ball,  the  11th  of  March,  the  proa 
of  which  ($2,000),  were  appropriated  to  the  Brooklyn  Female  Employment 
Society. 

It  was  justly  said  that  "  there  probably  never  was  an  enterprise  of  the 
vast  proportions  of  this  fair,  which  was  so  admirably  systematized,  consider- 
ing the  brief  time  that  was  permitted  to  perfect  and  carry  the  system  of 
organization  into  execution.  From  the  opening  of  the  fair  to  its  close,  not 
the  slightest  indication  of  confusion  in  the  working  of  the  machinery  was 
visible  to  the  observer,  although  no  one  but  those  who  had  the  complicated 
arrangements  in  charge  can  estimate  or  appreciate  the  amount  of  thought, 
energy  and  labor  which  were  required  to  keep  everything  moving  on  with 
such  delightful  harmony  and  precision.  But  this  was  all  below  the  surface. 
To  the  public,  everything  proceeded  from  day  to  day,  with  as  much  order 
and  regularity  as  if  the  fair  had  been  a  vast  business  establishment  wherein 
years  of  experience  had  been  devoted  to  systematizing  its  operations.1 

The  fair  closed  on  the  8th  of  March;  its  actual  net  result  being  8402.- 
943.7-4  :  of  which  the  sum  of  §300,000  was  paid  directly  into  the  treasury  of 

1  Very  much  of  this  remarkable  freedom  from  all  friction  and  distracting  inflaeno  is, 
and  of  that  earnestness  of  patriotic  feeling,  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  extraordi- 
nary tact  and  executive  ability  of  Mrs.  Mariamne  Fitch  Stranahan,  the  head  of  the 
Woman's  Relief  Association.  As  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  J.  S.  T.  Stranahan,  she  occu- 
pied a  high  social  position  ;  and,  ever  active  in  every  good  work  in  the  city  of  her 
adoption,  she  was  admirably  fitted  by  her  natural  abilities,  as  well  as  by  the  experi- 
ence gained  in  eight  years  service  as  first  directress  of  the  Graham  Institute  for  the 
Relief  of  Aged  and  Indigent  Females,  for  the  duties  devolved  upon  her  in  connection 
with  the  Sanitary  Fair.  "  She  was  the  right  woman  in  the  right  place.  She  gave 
her  time  to  the  work  with  a  zeal  and  perseverance  that  never  faltered,  and  with  a 
hopefulness  for  her  country,  which  yielded  to  no  discouragement  or  despondency. 
As  a  presiding  officer,  she  discharged  her  duties  with  a  self-possession,  courtesy,  skill 
and  method,  that  commanded  universal  admiration.  No  woman  ever  labored  in  a 
sphere  more  honorable,  and  but  few  women  could  have  filled  her  place."  She  died 
on  the  30th  of  August,  1866,  her  health  having,  no  doubt,  been  seriously  impaired  by 
the  severe  physical  and  mental  strain,  placed  upon  her  by  her  duties  in  connection 
with  the  Woman's  Relief  Association,  and  the  Sanitary  Fair,  which  originated 
therefrom. 

59 


466  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission ;  and  the  balance,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  president  of  that  Commission,  was  expended  in  the 
shape  of  supplies,  to  be  furnished  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  service, 
through  the  agency  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Association  of  Brooklyn.  This 
magnificent  gift  also  called  forth  the  following  encomium  from  Dr.  Bellows, 
who  wrote  to  the  president  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  fair  :  "  As 
this  is  by  far  the  largest  amount  ever  put  into  our  treasury  at  one  time  by  any 
community,  I  feel  that  it  deserves  the  most  marked  expression  of  our  grati- 
tude and  wonder  *  *  *  Brooklyn,  by  the  only  thoroughly 
approvable  kind  of  secession,  has  henceforth  declared  her  independence  of 
New  York.  She  has  indicated  her  right  and  power  to  lead,  and  we  shall  no 
longer  hear  her  spoken  of  as  an  appendix  to  the  metropolis.  She  is,  at  least, 
entitled  to  be  the  second  volume  of  that  great  work,  the  Commercial  Capital, 
of  which  New  York  is  the  first." 

It  was  indeed  true  that  the  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Fair,  was  "  the  first 
great  act  of  self-assertion  ever  made  by  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  Previous  to 
that  we  had  contented  ourselves  as  a  community  with  believing,  that  for 
b^tuty  of  local  position,  Brooklyn  was  unsurpassed;  a  claim  generally 
admitted.  She  had,  also,  with  remarkable  unanimity,  been  allowed  the 
soubriquet  of  the  "  city  of  churches/'  although  never  exceeding  the  proportion 
of  one  church  to  two  thousand  persons.  The  census  was  an  indisputable 
witness  to  the  fact  of  the  wondrous  ratio  in  which  her  population  had  in- 
creased, till  she  was  equally,  beyond  denial,  the  third  city,  in  that  respect, 
in  the  Union.  Among  the  merchants  of  New  York,  most  prominent  for 
intelligence,  wealth,  and  consequent  influence,  were  found  many  who 
resided  within  the  walls  of  Brooklyn  ;  while  the  crowds  crossing  her  ferries 
to  and  from  the  great  metropolis,  at  morning  and  evening,  showed  how 
largely  the  entire  business  and  labor  of  the  latter  were  performed  by  our 
citizens. 

"  Nevertheless,  Brooklyn  was  but  a  suburb,  overshadowed  by  her  mighty 
neighbor.  Travelers,  foreign  and  native,  in  vast  numbers,  visited  the  chief  com- 
mercial city  of  our  country,  on  errands  of  business  or  pleasure ;  but,  if  not 
called  to  Brooklyn  through  personal  claims  of  kindred  or  friendship,  rarely 
sought  it  except  to  visit  the  great  Navy  Yard  of  the  nation,  or  the  most 
beautiful  cemetery  in  the  world ;  severally  so  placed  on  what  was  once  her 
northern,  and  what  is  still  her  southern  boundary,  that  either  could  be 
reached  while  the  city  itself  was  practically  ignored.  The  visitor  came  and 
went,  having  seen  little  or  nothing  of  it,  except  its  unattractive  outskirts, 
and  with  no  longing  awakened  to  see  more.  Meanwhile,  she  had  gathered 
to  herself  public  schools,  which  had  grown  to  rank  among  the  best  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  4G7 

kind  in  the  land;  private  or  corporate  institutions  of  education  for  either 

sex.  which  iii  their  entire  equipment,  management  and  efficiency  would  do 
honor  to  any  community;  a  body"  of  clergy,  as  a  whole,  and  i«»r  their 
numbers  not  surpassed  in  character  and  gifts  by  those  of  any  of  our  citizens  ; 
great  institutions  of  charity,  too  largely  dependent,  however,  on  annual  con- 
tributions rather  than  permanent  endowments  j  courses  of  lectures,  delivered 
by  the  ablest  men  of  the  country,  or  by  savants  from  abroad,  traveling  or 
resident  in  America  ;  a  well  appointed  Philharmonic  Society,  amply  patron- 
ized and  appreciated;  an  Academy  of  Music,  the  beauty  and  value  of  which 
the  fair  served  to  make  more  widely  and  palpably  known  ;  a  Mercantile 
Library,  which,  for  many  year-,  has  met  an  inevitable  want  of  every  pro- 
gressive community;  and  a  Historical  Society,  recently  formed  from  the 
city  and  island,  which  had  started  in  its  course  with  remarkable  vigor. 
And  yet,  withal,  Brooklyn,  till  the  fair,  had  no  status  before  the  country 
beyond  that  of  a  remarkably  quiet  suburban  town,  where,  after  a  hard  day's 
labor,  weary  men  found  lodging  places  till  the  next  day's  work  began." 

But,  in,  and  by  the  fair,  Brooklyn  "  stood  forth  for  once,  apart  from  New 
York  ;"  and,  summoning  Long  Island  to  her  side,  put  forth  her  powers  to 
help,  to  the  utmost  of  her  means,  the  noblest  charity  of  the  world,  and  proved 
herself  alive  to  her  proud  position,  her  abundant  wealth,  her  great  privileges 
and  opportunities.  And,  since  that  time,  whatever  Brooklyn  has  wanted, 
she  has  sought  for  with  her  own  powers,  and  has  obtained  it;  for  liberality 
and  self-power  increase  hy  the  using. 


1864.  February.  For  the  purpose  of  stimulating  enlistments  to 
the  credit  of  Kings  county,  members  of  the  Substitute  Bounty 
Fund  committee  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  visited  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  as  well  as  Port  Royal,  where  Kings  county  regiments 
were  stationed,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  them  to  reenlist  to 
the  credit  of  Kings  county,  which  efforts  were  eminently  success- 
ful. 

March  6th.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  reenlisted  men  of  the  48th 
New  York  Volunteers  left  Brooklyn,  to  rejoin  their  regiment, 
then  in  Florida. 

March  11th.  A  great  calico  ball  was  held  at  the  Academy  of 
Music,  in  aid  of  the  Sanitary  Commission. 

March  14th.  Appeared  the  president's  call  for  200,000  men, 
additional  to  the  500,000  already  called  for. 


468  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

March  10th  and  15th.  Meetings  were  held  at  the  Re- 
formed  Dutch  Church,  on  the  Heights,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  in  Brooklyn,  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Christian 
Commission.  A  committee  of  prominent  citizens  of  all  denomina- 
tions, previously  appointed,  reported  an  informal  plan  of  organ- 
ization, and  the  following  gentlemen,  with  such  others  connected 
with  the  churches  of  Long  Island,  as  they  should  hereafter  asso- 
ciate with  them,  were  constituted  a  Christian  Commission  for 
Brooklyn  and  Long  Island,  to  act  in  concert  with  the  United  States 
Christian  Commission,  in  supplying  Christian  teachers  and  reli- 
gious and  moral  literature  to  the  army  and  navy,  etc.,  etc. :  Revs. 
James  Eells,  D.D.,  R.  S.  Storrs,  Jr.,  D.D.,  Jno.  H.  Raymond, 
D.D.,  W.  I.  Budington,  D.D.,  J.  B.  Waterbury,  D.D.,  J.  E. 
Rockwell,  D.J).,  Elbert  S.  Porter,  D.D.,  E.  H.  Canfield,  D.D., 
Samuel  T.  Spear,  D.D.,  Chas.  S.  Robinson,  L.  H.  Mills,  C.  D. 
Foss,  R.  M.  Hatfield,  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  Wilbur  F.  Watkins, 
¥m.  S.  Karr,  E.  Mills,  Robert  Lowery;  Samuel  B.  Caldwell; 
Thos.  H.  Messenger;  Livingston  K.  Miller;  S.  B.  Chittenden; 
Reuben  W.  Rogers ;  Henry  Sheldon ;  Edward  Cary ;  ¥m.  J. 
Coffin ;  Edward  A.  Lambert ;  ¥m.  W.  Armfield ;  James  C. 
Southworth ;  John  D.  McKenzie ;  David  Wesson ;  Lewis  Morris ; 
A.  D.  Matthews ;  R.  L.  Wyckoff;  John  G.  Fay ;  Richard  H.  Corn- 
well  ;  Benson  Yan  Yleet ;  Dwight  Johnson ;  Walter  S.  Griffith. 

The  above  named  committee,  organized  March  23d,  under  the 
title  of  the  Broohlynand  Long  Island  Christian  Commission,  and  elected 
the  following  officers :  President,  Walter  S.  Griffith  ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Rev.  James  Eells,  D.D. ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Rev.  J.  B. 
Waterbury,  D.D. ;  Recording  Secretary,  Wm.  J.  Coffin  ;  Treasurer^ 
Samuel  B.  Caldwell.  Previously ,  the  patriotic  and  Christian  people 
of  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  had  given  their  donations  through 
the  New  York  branch  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission, 
which  had  a  special  portion  of  the  field  assigned  to  it.  Great 
interest  was  manifested  by  the  public ;  office  rooms  were  secured 
in  Hamilton  building,  corner  of  Court  and  Joralemon  streets ; 
and  funds  were  liberally  and  almost  spontaneously  provided  by 
the  churches  and  by  individual  contributions.  The  public  meet- 
ings held   for   the  purpose   of  interesting   the  community   and 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  469 

obtaining  funds  were  most  enthusiastic  in  character  arid  fruitful 

in  results,  abounding  in  scenes  of  the  intensest  interest  and  the 
most  touching  incidents.  The  funds  placed  by  this  Brooklyn  and 
Long  Island  Commission,  at  the  disposal  of  the  central  com- 
mission of  Philadelphia,  at  different  times,  amounted  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  nearly  §9,000. 

The  number  of  books,  periodicals,  newspapers,  etc.,  distributed 
by  this  commission  to  the  army  and  navy  cannot  be  accurately 
stated;  yet  we  learn  from  their  report,  that  from  March,  18G4  to 
April,  1865,  they  sent  out  bibles,  and  portions  of  the  scriptures, 
1,210  ;  psalm  and  hymn  books,  4,033  ;  small  books  for  knapsack, 
52,079 ;  books  for  libraries,  5,641 ;  magazines  and  pamphlets, 
50,544;  newspapers,  religious  and  others,  177,520;  pages  of 
tracts,  787,226,  being  a  total  of  1,078,304.  These  were  all  care- 
fully selected  from  our  best  families,  or  from  the  lists  of  the  best 
publishing  houses,  and  were  of  the  highest  character,  as  to  interest 
and  morality.  With  these  were  sent,  also,  in  the  course  of  a 
single  year,  between  three  and  four  thousand  comfort-bags  and 
housewives,  the  productions  of  sewing  circles,  young  ladies' 
schools,  Sunday  schools,  etc.,  etc.,  and  which  were  comforts  indeed 
to  the  brave  soldiers  and  seamen,  not  less  from  their  intrinsic 
adaptability  to  camp  needs,  than  from  the  evidence  they  bore  with 
them  of  the  thoughtful  remembrance  of  the  patriotic  women  and 
girls  who  made  them.  Out  of  two  hundred  chapel  tents  furnished 
by  the  Central  United  States  Christian  Commission  to  the  soldiers 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  for  their  accommodation  in  the  matter 
of  religious  meetings  in  camp,  ten  were  furnished  by  the  Brooklyn 
and  Long  Island  Christian  Commission,  at  an  expense  of  $5,000. 
Each  of  these  large  tents  bore,  on  its  canvas  roof,  the  name  of 
the  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Christian  Commission,  and  to 
each  was  furnished  a  library,  comprising,  in  all,  about  1,350 
volumes.  One  thousand  and  thirty  volumes  were  contributed  by 
James  H.  Prentice,  of  Brooklyn,  and  several  other  excellent 
libraries  were  also  sent  from  here  to  the  hospitals  at  Hampton, 
Va.,  Fredericksburg,  Md.,  and  others.  $500  was  also  contributed 
by  the  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Christian  Commission  to  the 
permanent  chapel  erected  at  the  Hampton  Hospital.     In  addition 


470  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

to  this,  and  in  prompt  response  to  an  appeal  to  the  churches  of 
Brooklyn,  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  delegates,  representing 
nearly  all  the  evangelical  denominations,  were  sent  to  the  front 
for  humane  and  religious  labor  in  the  field,  camp  and  hospital,  and 
on  board  vessels  of  the  navy.  They  were  sent  in  companies  of 
from  two  to  ten  or  twelve,  and  usually  spent  six  weeks  in  the 
work. 
March  17th.     The  Union  of  this  date,  says : 

"  Though  Brooklyn  has  had  to  bear  its  full  share  of  the  responsibilities  and 
burdens  of  the  war,  its  natural  advantages,  and  the  enterprise  of  its  people, 
have  proved  equal  to  any  exigency  j  and  the  course  of  our  city  has  been  as 
prosperous  and  as  progressive  as  in  more  auspicious  times.  A  satisfactory 
attestation  of  this  fact  may  be  had  by  a  walk  through  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  where  costly  structures  rear  their  lofty  heads,  and  the  busy  hum  of 
industry  may  constantly  be  heard.  The  large  manufacturing  interests  of  our 
city  —  which  exist  to  an  extent  that  but  few  of  our  citizens  have  any  concep- 
tion of — are  all  highly  prosperous,  and  are  employed  to  their  fullest  capacity. 

"  But.  it  is  in  that  portion  of  our  city  known  as  Green-Point,  where  the 
greatest  evidences  of  progress  and  prosperity  are  to  be  be  seen.  Within  the 
past  year,  a  dozen  or  more  streets  in  the  Seventeenth  ward,  which  promise 
to  become  the  most  frequented  and  important  thoroughfares,  have  been 
opened,  graded  and  paved,  thus  enormously  enhancing  the  value  of  the  pro- 
perty in  that  district.  In  the  same  ward  there  has  been  erected  within  the 
past  eight  months,  not  less  than  one  hundred  first  class  dwelling  houses  and 
stores,  and  yet  the  demand  is  greatly  in  advance  of  the  supply.  Besides 
these  buildings,  there  have  been  erected  in  the  same  locality,  docks,  ferry 
houses,  and  factories,  which  have  largely  increased  the  traffic  and  importance 
of  the  neighborhood. 

"  But,  perhaps,  the  most  encouraging  feature  of  Brooklyn  enterprise  is  to  be 
found  in  the  unabated  prosperity  of  the  ship  building  interest.  The  esti- 
mated value  of  the  vessels  now  building  at  Green-Point,  including  those  for 
the  government,  is  upwards  of  ten  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  number  of 
persons  employed  thereon,  is  between  two  and  three  thousand. 

The  first  iron  vessel  built  on  the  plan  of  Capt.  Ericson,  was  constructed  at 
the  works  of  A.  J.  Rowland,  Green-Point,  which  establishment  must  ever  be 
famous,  while  we  continue  to  remember  the  battle  of  the  Monitor  and  the 
Merrimac.  Since  that  memorable  event,  Mr.  Rowland  has  constructed 
seven  vessels  of  a  similar  character,  and  of  the  average  value  of  $500,000 
each. 


IIISToKY  OF  BROOKLYN.  471 

"  Tho  same  firm  liave  two  iron  monitors  under  way.  One,  the  Puritan^  a 
Bea-going  teasel  (length,  340  feet;  breadth  of  beam,  50  feet;  depth.  l'.\ 
feet),  is  the  largest  of  the  monitors  yet  built,  and  is  justly  regarded  afl  a 
perfect  marvel  of  naval  architecture  and  strength.     She  ifl  bo  nearly  finished 

that  she  will  be  ready  for  launching  early  in   May.      The  other  iron 
under  way  at  this  yard,  is  the  Cohoes,  a  light  draft  monitor  for  coast  service. 
She  is  300  feet  long,  42  feet  wide,  28  feet  depth  of  hold,  and  2,800  tons  bur- 
den.    The  number  of  hands  employed  at  this  yard,  will  average  about  five 
hundred. 

"  The  Dry  Dock  Iron  Works  is  a  young  rival  of  Mr.  Rowland's  establish- 
ment, and  was  opened  last  fall  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Underbill.  At  this  establishment 
is  being  constructed  a  light  draft  monitor,  to  be  called  the  Mordoc,  and  in  all 
respects  similar  to  the  Cohoes,  building  in  Mr.  Rowland's  yard. 

••  Mr.  Henry  Steers,  at  his  yard,  is  building  for  the  government,  the  sloop 
Idaho,  a  vessel  of  3,000  tons,  300  feet  long,  44  feet  wide,  and  27  feet  depth 
of  hold.  The  Idaho  will  be  launched  within  a  month  from  this  time.  She 
is  built  with  an  express  view  to  speed,  will  be  furnished  with  two  propellers, 
and  contain  engines  of  3,000  horse  power,  and  will  prove  a  splendid  addition 
to  the  United  States  navy." 

A  large  number  of  ocean  and  sound  steamers  (both  side  wheel  and  pro- 
pellers^ ferry  boats,  and  wooden  vessels,  were  also  being  constructed  in  the 
various  yards. 

March  19th.  The  first  fair  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christian 
Commission  in  Brooklyn,  was  held  at  No.  39  Pineapple  street, 
by  a  school  of  nine  little  (five  to  eight  year  old),  children  taught  by 
Miss  Ketchum,  viz :  Katie  S.  White,  Willie  Forbes,  Rebecca  T. 
Rowland,  Sarah  Howe,  Walter  Nordorf,  Agnes  Forbes,  Lucy 
Howe,  Alice  Moffat,  Lizzie  King;  proceeds  of  their  effort,  §52. 

March  23.  The  board  of  supervisors  fesolved  "  that  the  special 
committee  on  bounty  to  volunteers  be,  and  are  hereby  empowered 
to  pay  such  sums  not  exceeding  the  amount  heretofore  paid  to 
volunteers  for  the  army,  if  they-  find  it  will  be  advantageous  to 
the  county,  to  recruits  in  the  naval  service,  provided  that  this 
county  be  credited  on  the  quota  therefor."  The  committee  finding, 
on  inquiry,  that  credit  would  be  given  Kings  county  for  sailors 
enlisting  to  her  credit  (three  years  service  being  required  to  obtain 
credit  for  one  man),  resolved  to  pay  naval  recruits,  the  following 


472  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

bounties,  for  one  year,  $100 ;  for  two  and  three  years,  $200  ;  for 
Marine  corps  (term  of  service  being  four  years),  $300. 

March'  25th.  A  grand  entertainment  was  given  at  the  Academy, 
by  the  Musseola  Association,  for  the  benefit  of  the  families  of  the 
members  of  the  14th,  48th  and  67th  Regiments. 

April  5th.  The  Brooklyn  Yacht  Club  was  incorporated  by  act 
of  legislature. 

b  May  15th.  A  call  from  the  Brooklyn  and  Long  Island  Christ- 
ian Commission,  for  one  hundred  minute  men,  to  go  to  the  battle- 
field and  hospital,  at  the  front,  for  the  succor  and  spiritual  com- 
fort of  the  wounded  soldiers,  was  this  day  promulgated  from  all  the 
pulpits  of  Brooklyn. 

May  18th.  Appeared  the  bogus  proclamation  of  the  president, 
calling  for  an  additional  draft  of  400,000  men,  and  appointing  a 
day  of  national  humiliation  and  prayer.  This  document  emanated 
from  two  Brooklyn  newspaper  men. 

There  being  a  slight  deficiency  in  the  full  quota  of  the  county, 
a  draft  was  ordered  to  fill  the  same ;  and,  on  the  17th,  the  board 
of  supervisors  directed  their  bounty  committee  to  pay  out  of  the 
funds  remaining  in  the  county  treasurer's  hands,  $300  to  each  and 
every  man  held,  or  that  may  be  held,  to  service,  under  this  or  any 
subsequent  draft  made,  in  the  second  and  third  congressional 
districts  of  the  state,  etc.,  who  may  procure  an  acceptable  substi- 
tute. 

June  2d.  The  bounty  fund  committee  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors, were  empowered  and  directed  to  pay  the  bounty  to  all  men 
drafted,  and  who  should  enter  the  army.  But  few  cases,  however, 
occurred  under  this  resolution. 

June.  Capt.  Poinsett  Cooper,  son  of  the  deceased  Commodore 
Cooper,  U.  S.  N.,  while  recruiting  his  health  from  wounds 
received  in  the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  was  presented  with  a 
superb  sword,  belt  and  gloves,  by  the  officers  of  the  Brooklyn 
Bank,  in  which  he  was  formerly  employed. 

July  9th.  At  a  meeting  of  the  field  and  staff  officers  of  the 
1st  Long  Island  Regiment,  held  at  Delmonico's  Hotel,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  The  Association  of  Officers  of  the  First  Long^Island 
Volunteer   Regiment  of  1861,  was  formed  "  to  keep  perpetually 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  47:J 

green  the  valor,  merits  and  virtues  of  our  brothers  in  arms,  who 
have  fallen  by  our  side,  fighting  for  God  and  country,"  and  "  to 
preserve  ae  a  living  coal,  the  goodly  fellowship  and  brotherly  re- 
gard felt  each  for  the  other,  by  those  who  survive."  Officers: 
Col.  Nelson  Cross,  President;  Lieut.  Col.  Henry  L.  Van  Ness, 
Vice-President ;  Adj't.  Geo.  B.  Lincoln,  Secretary, 

July  13th.  The  board  of  supervisors  passed  a  resolution, 
directing  the  bounty  committee  of  the  board,  pursuant  to  a  | de- 
vious resolution  (June  23d),  "to  pay  to  any  person  furnishing  an 
accepted  volunteer,  or  recruit  for  three  years  United  States  service, 
the  sum  not  exceeding  $300,  the  same  as  paid  to  any  drafted 
man  furnishing  a  substitute,  and  to  be  paid  upon  the  like  certi- 
ficate of  the  United  States  officer,  and  without  regard  to  the 
person  furnishing  such  recruit  being  liable  to  be  drafted  into  the 
United  States  service,  etc." 

It  having  become  necessary  to  keep  pace  with  New  York  city, 
in  the  payment  of  hand  money,  as  well  as  bounty,  the  committee 
determined  to  pay  a  premium  of  §20  for  one  year  men,  and  §35 
for  two  and  three  years  men. 

July  14th.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  Armory  in  the  Eastern 
District,  was  laid. 

July  18th.  A  further  call  for  500,000  one  year  men  was 
made  by  the  general  government ;  and,  under  resolution  of  the 
board  of  supervisors,  passed  August  16th,  the  committee  com- 
menced to  pay  one  year  recruits  and  volunteers  the  sum  of  §175, 
and  §100  hand  money  to  any  person  bringing  a  recruit.  In  case 
the  recruit  presented  himself  at  the  office,  he  received  both  bounty 
and  hand  money.  This  hand  money  was  made  to  apply,  however, 
only  to  one  year  recruits. 

July  31st.  The  151st  New  York  Volunteers  (or  First  Metro- 
politan Regiment),  was,  together  with  the  46th  and  51st,  newly 
arrived  from  the  front,  honored  with  a  magnificent  reception  by 
the  authorities  of  the  city  of  New  York.  The  151st  was  one  of 
the  four  Metropolitan  Regiments,  raised  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Metropolitan  Police,  and  to  its  ranks  the  45th  precinct  of  Brook- 
lyn contributed  one  entire  company,  of  which  Sergt.  Daniel 
Jacobs  was  appointed  captain.     The  46th  precinct,  also  of  Brook- 

60 


474  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

lyn,  furnished  a  company  to  the  regiment,  under  the  captaincy  of 
Mr.  George  Rudyard,  and  the  organization  was  largely  indebted 
to  the  labors  of  Police  Captains  Woglom  and  Mullen.  The  51st 
.Regiment  was,  also,  to  a  still  greater  extent,  a  Brooklyn  organ- 
ization, full  one-half  of  its  members  having  been  recruited  in  this 
city.  Of  the  46th  Regiment,  two  entire  companies  were  raised 
in  Brooklyn. 

Among  those  who  took  part  in  the  reception  was  a  portion  of 
the  13th  Regiment,  New  York  State  National  Guard,  of  this  city, 
and  the  police  to  the  number  of  about  one  thousand,  which  in- 
cluded the  off  platoons  of  the  Brooklyn  force.  The  veterans 
with  the  military  and  police  escort  formed  in  procession  near  the 
police  headquarters,  in  Mulberry  street,  and  formed  a  very  im- 
posing cortege  as  they  marched  through  some  of  the  principal 
thoroughfares  to  the  rooms  of  the  Union  League  Club,  on  the 
corner  of  Union  square  and  Seventeenth  street,  where  suitable 
arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  accommodation  of  the  party. 
The  veterans  were  appropriately  addressed  by  Col.  Colyer  and 
Col.  Shepard,  and  were  subsequently  furnished  with  a  bountiful 
collation.  On  their  line  of  march  they  were  everywhere  greeted 
with  acclamations  and  shouts  of  welcome. 

August  4th.     A  national  fast  day. 

August  5th.  Companies  B  and  C  (90  men),  28th  New  York 
State  National  Guards,left  for  Elmira,  on  one  hundred  days  tour 
of  service. 

August  7th.  The  90th  New  York  Volunteers  come  home  on 
veteran  furlough,  and  returned  to  the  field  on  September  2d. 

September  10th.  "  Next  to  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  "  says 
a  Brooklyn  paper,  "  the  most  cheering  announcement  of  the  week, 
is  that  Kings  County  is  out  of  the  draft.  The  thousands  who 
were  waiting  in  trembling  anxiety  the  turning  of  the  wheel  of  fate 
are  greatly  relieved.  Brokers  are  chagrined  that  their  profits 
are  summarily  cut  off.  Substitutes  who  hold  back  for  an  increased 
price,  regret  that  they  refused  liberal  offers ;  and  some  parties  who 
had  furnished  substitutes  wish  they  had  saved  their  money.  But 
the  mass  of  the  people  rejoice  greatly  that  the  city  has,  for  the 
present,  at  least,  avoided  the  hardships  of  the  conscription.     The 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  N.  475 

navy  has  taken  us  out  of  the  draft.  The  efforts  of  the  committee 
of  aldermen  and  supervisors  to  have  previous  naval  enlistments 

credited  were  successful,  Genera]   Eays  lias  issued  a  certif 

by  which  it  appears  that  on  the  1st  August,  the  deficiency  under 

all  calls  was,  in  the  2d  District,  3,494,  and  in  the  3d  District, 
2,481,  making  a  total  of  5,975.  The  two  districts  arc  credited,  on 
account  of  naval  enlistments  prior  to  February  i!4,  1804,  with  G.<>  h;, 
leaving  a  working  capital  for  any  future  call,  a  surplus  of  71." 

September  12th.  A  strong  appeal  is  made  by  the  Brooklyn 
and  Long  Island  Christian  Commission,  for  delegates  to  go  to 
the  aid  of  the  suffering  and  dying  at  Winchester  and  Peters- 
burg. Five  or  six  thousand  are  reported  as  lying  at  City  Point, 
mostly  those  who  breasted  the  shock  of  battle  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg and  on  the  Weldon  rail  road. 

This  draft  found  the  Seventeenth  ward  (Green-Point)  with 
its  quota  (one  hundred  and  seventy-one  men)  unfilled.  Meetings 
were  at  once  called,  money  raised,  a  committee  appointed  and  in 
about  two  weeks  time,  the  ward  was  out  of  the  draft,  and  with 
quite  a  surplus  to  its  credit.  Over  §20,000  was  raised  for  this 
purpose  in  a  short  time. 

September  19th  and  23d.  Meetings  of  a  number  of  our  I 
citizens,  at  No.  9  Court  street,  resulted  on  the  30th,  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Soldiers  Home  Associati m,  having  for  its  object  the  pro- 
vision of  relief  for  sick,  or  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  and  their 
families.  The  trustees  named  in  its  incorporation  were  George 
Hall,  John  Greenwood,  Moses  F.  Odell,  Jonathan  S.  Burr, 
Seymour  L.  Husted,  Geo.  B.  Lincoln,  James  M.  Seabury,  L.  S. 
Burnham,  Wm.  H.  Jenkins,  James  Murphy,  Luther  B.  Wyman, 
Wm.  H.  Johnson  and  Charles  J.  Lowrey. 

September  21.  The  48th  New  York  Volunteers  returned  home 
to  Brooklyn. 

December  3d.  A  public  meeting  in  behalf  of  the  Soldier's 
Home  Commission  was  held  at  the  Academy. 

December  13th.  The  Female  Employment  Society  acknowledges 
the  receipt  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  deceased  soldiers,  being  the  proceeds  of  a  fair  held  by  the 
"  little  girls  of  South  Brooklyn."' 


476  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

December  17th.  Mrs.  Stranahan,  president  of  the  Woman's 
Relief  Association,  acknowledges  the  receipt  from  six  little  girls, 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  being  a  portion  of  a  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars,  realized  from  a  children's  fair, 
held  at  No.  84  Joralemon  street,  on  the  2d  of  the  same  month, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers.  The  balance  was  reserved  for 
the  purchase  of  materials  for  the  making  up,  by  the  juvenile 
donors,  of  such  garments  as  the  society  should  indicate  as  most 
requisite  for  soldiers  use. 

December  17th.  A  patriotic  subscription  ball,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  destitute  families  of  the  soldiers  of  Brooklyn,  held  this 
evening  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  netted  the  sum  of  $6,036.26, 
which  was  handed  over  to  the  Female  Employment  Society  of 
Brooklyn  for  disbursement. 

December  22d.  A  meeting  of  the  people  of  Brooklyn  was 
held  at  the  Academy,  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  an  address 
on  the  history,  patriotism,  and  sufferings  of  East  Tennessee,  and 
to  express  the  sympathy  felt  with  the  heroic  and  unfortunate 
people  of  that  loyal  stronghold.  Owing  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  the  audience  was  not  as  large  as  the  object  deserved. 
Mr.  A.  A.  Low  presided,  and  over  two  thousand  dollars  was 
raised  for  the  aid  of  the  suffering  Tennessean  patriots. 

December  28th.  The  treasurer  of  the  Liberty  Soldiers  Aid  So- 
ciety, acknowledges  the  receipt  of  $26.57,  being  the  proceeds  of  a 
fair  held  by  fi.ve  little  girls,  Misses  Lottie  Chichester,  Ida  Wiltse, 
Annie  Schenck,  Ida  Lane  and  Kittie  Remington. 

1865.  January  5th.  The  173d  New  York  Volunteers  (Fourth 
Metropolitan)  from  Brooklyn,  in  camp  at  Winchester,  Va.,  received 
a  splendid  state  flag,  with  two  guidons,  donated  by  citizens  of 
Brooklyn,  the  War  Fund  Committee,  etc. 

March  24th.  The  Brooklyn  Club  was  organized  and  on  the  24th 
of  April  following  filed  its  certificate  of  incorporation. 

April  10th.  The  steamer  Oceanus,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty 
passengers,  of  both  sexes,  set  sail,  under  a  general  permit  from  the 
war  department,  for  a  trip  to  Charleston  Harbor,  Hilton  Head, 
Fort  Fisher,  Fortress  Monroe,  Norfolk,  City  Point  and  Richmond. 
It  was  a  very  select  and  recherche  affair,  originally  conceived  by 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  477 

Messrs.  Stephen  M.  Griswold  and  Edwin  A.  Studwell,  of  Brook- 
lyn.    At  Charleston,  the  party  first  heard  of  Lee's  surrender;  and, 

on  the  14th  of  April,  they  were  present  af  the  impressive  scene  of 
restoring  to  its  place  on  Fort  Sumter,  the  stars  and  stripes.  On 
this  occasion  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  assisted,  the  latter  delivering  one  of  his  impassioned  and 
thrilling  addresses.  On  the  return,  near  Fortress  Monroe,  the 
party  first  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln.  Before 
leaving  the  steamer,  the  members  of  this  pleasant  party,  formed 
themselves  into  a  permanent  organization,  known  as  the  8k 
Club.1 

News  of  Gen.  Lee's  surrender  was  received,  and  the  city,  as 
indeed,  the  whole  country,  is  overflowed  with  joy. 

April  loth.  The  announcement  of  the  assassination  and  death 
of  President  Lincoln,  plunged  the  whole  community  in  mourning. 
Men  of  parties  joined  in  the  regret.  All  party  rancor,  all  poli- 
tical bitterness  was  forgotten  in  sorrow.  The  thousands  of  flags 
which  the  day  before  floated  joyfully  upon  the  breeze,  were 
silently  taken  down,  or  put  at  half-mast,  or  draped  in  funeral 
serge.  Alderman  D.  D.  Whitney,  as  acting  mayor,  issued  a 
proclamation  directing  the  public  offices  to  be  closed,  the  flags  to  be 
displayed  at  half-mast,  and  the  bells  to  be  tolled  from  twelve  to  one 
o'clock  p.  m.,  etc.,  etc.  Courts,  theatres  and  places  of  public  amuse- 
ments were  closed;  and  everywhere  a  deep  pall  of  sorrow  seemed 
to  have  fallen  upon  the  whole  community.  On  the  evening  of 
the  17th,  an  immense  gathering  of  citizens  took  place  at  the  Aca- 
demy of  Music  under  the  auspices  of  the  War  Fund  committee ; 
and  was  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  demonstrations 
that  had  ever  taken  place  in  Brooklyn.  The  interior  of  the 
beautiful  edifice  was  draped  in  mourning,  while  the  vast  audience, 
filling  every  available  spot,  exhibited  feelings  in  perfect  consonance 
with  the  mournful  occasion  which  had  brought  them  together. 
Speeches  were  delivered  by  Hon.  James  Humphrey,  Judge  Bird- 
seye,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Vinton,  S.  B.  Chittenden,  and  Rev.  Dr. 


*See  the  Trip  of  the  Oceanus,  a  handsome  volume  issued  by  the  club,  from  the 
Union  press. 


478  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Willits.  Numerous  other  meetings  also  held  in  other  parts  of  the 
city  testified  to  the  general  sorrow. 

The  municipal  and  co'unty  authorities,  public  bodies,  military, 
loyal  leagues  and  citizens  generally  of  Brooklyn  joined  in  the 
great  procession  by  which  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  26th 
celebrated  the  obsequies  of  the  martyred  president. 

September  6th.  The  public  spirited  ladies  of  the  Seventeenth 
ward  gave  a  splendid  entertainment  and  supper  to  the  returned 
Green-Point  soldiers  at  the  M.  E.  Tabernacle,  on  Union,  near 
Noble  street.  Green-Point  contributed  largely  to  the  make  up  of 
the  131st,  158th,  170th,  127th,  159th,  132d,  62d,  51st  and  other 
regiments,  besides  many  men  contributed  to  the  navy. 

October.  J.  B.  Jones,  M.D.,  health  officer,  made  a  report  to 
the  common  council,  in  which  he  called  the  attention  of  that 
body  to  the  probable  appearance  upon  these  shores,  of  the  Asiatic 
cholera,  which  had  even  then  commenced  its  march  of  desolation 
in  India  and  Europe,  and  recommended  that  immediate  measures 
should  be  adopted  for  a  complete  and  searching  sanitary  inspec- 
tion, by  ward  committees,  consisting  of  six  residents,  two  of  whom 
should  be-  physicians,  in  connection  with  the  aldermen,  and  the 
assistance  of  the  police ;  as  also  for  the  cleaning  of  streets  and  the 
prompt  suppression  of  all  nuisances.  These  measures,  were  to 
some  extent,  adopted  and  enforced. 

1866.  With  the  1st  of  January,  Samuel  Booth  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  mayoralty. 

Samuel  Booth,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  of  whom  the  foregoing 
engraving  is  an  excellent  likeness,  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1865,  as  the 
sixteenth  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn.  He  was  born  in  England  upon 
the  4th  day  of  July,  1818,  and  left  his  birthplace  with  his  parents,  Thomas 
Booth  and  Rebecca,  to  come  to  this  country,  while  yet  an  infant  of  only 
three  weeks  of  age. 

Mr.  Booth  spent  the  first  ten  years  of  his  childhood  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  constant  resident  of  Brooklyn.  His 
first  residence  in  this  city  was  in  Tillary  street,  his  father  building  for 
himself  a  small  house  there  upon  land  which  at  that  time  formed  a  part  of 
a  large  and  almost  unbroken  farm,  called  the  Johnson  farm. 

Mr.  Booth  never  received  what  might  be  called  a  liberal  education,  al- 
though his  tastes,  had  opportunity  offered,  would  have  inclined  him  toward  it. 


^ 


■y 


HISTORY  OF  BBOOKL1  S  479 

His  early  training  waa  Bnoh  only  as  could  be  acquired  at  the  beai  of  the  oommon 
and  select  aehoola  of  that  day.  Dp  to  the  time  of  bis  leaving  New  Fork 
eity,  he  was  under  the  able  inatrnotion  of  Professor  I  triaoom,  then  in  charge 

of  the  high  school  in  that  eity.  and  leaving  there  pnrened  his  >tu<li«->.  until 
fourteen  years  of  age.  in  Brooklyn,  at    tin    school  of  the  late  Adrian    B< 
man.  afterward  the  county  clerk  of  Kings  county. 

Immediately  after  leaving  the  school  of  Mr.  Begeman  he  him- 

self as  a  clerk  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  in  tin-  establishment  whieh 
then  belonged  to  the  late  Thomas  M.  McLean,  in  Maiden  lane,  New  York. 
It  was  here,  under  the  able  instruction  of  the  manager  of  that  business  that 
Mr.  Booth  acquired  the  basis  of  souud  business  habits,  which  has  only 
become  strengthened  since,  throughout  his  exceedingly  busy  and  not  alto- 
gether uneventful  life. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  concluded,  however,  to  abandon  the  chances  of 
success  in  that  direction,  and  apprenticed  himself  to  Elias  Combs  to  learn 
the  trade  of  carpenter  and  builder,  which  he  accomplished,  and  in  the  pur- 
suit of  which  he  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  Brooklyn  up  to  the 
present  time. 

Afl  an  index  to  the  character  of  his  mind,  it  is  stated  that  while  most  of 
his  associates  were  engaged  during  their  otherwise  unoccupied  evenings  in 
the  pursuit  of  such  unprofitable  recreation  and  amusements  as  offered  them- 
selves, Mr.  Booth  applied  himself  constantly  to  his  books  and  sought  to 
make  amends  in  this  way  for  his  early  lack  of  more  complete  educational 
advantages. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  Mr.  Booth  started  business  for  himself  and 
since  that  time  his  history  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  identified  with  the 
prosperity  and  advancement  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

In  the  year  1851,  the  various  wards  of  the  city  were  represented  by  two 
aldermen  instead  of  one,  as  at  present,  one  of  which,  designated  by  lot, 
officiated  also  in  the  capacity  of  supervisor  in  the  county  board.  Mr.  Booth 
having  been  in  that  year  elected  alderman  of  the  Fourth  ward,  it  fell  to  him 
to  occupy  both  positions,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present,  he  has  been 
almost  constantly  engaged,  in  one  way  or  another  in  the  public  service.  His 
first  election  was  characterized  by  his  receiving,  with  one  exception,  a  larger 
majority  of  the  suffrages  of  his  fellow  citizens  than  any  other  candidate  for 
official  honors  has  received  in  that  ward  either  before  or  since  that  time. 
He  served  as  alderman  for  four  years,  during  which  time  the  fine  building 
known  as  the  Kings  County  Penitentiary  was  built,  the  entire  charge  of 
which,  for  the  most  part,  was  placed  under  the  control  of  Mr.  Booth.  After 
four  years,  declining  a  reelection  as  alderman,  he  received  an  unsolicited 


480  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

appointment  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education.     He  filled  this  position 
two  years. 

In  the  year  1857,  the  office  of  alderman  and  supervisor  having  been 
separated  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  Mr.  Booth  again  consented  to  become 
a  candidate  for  office,  and  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  Fourth  ward,  which 
position  he  occupied  with  the  almost  unanimous  approbation  of  his  consti- 
tuency up  to  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  chief  executive  office  of  the 
city,  in  the  fall  of  1865. 

During  his  last  term  as  supervisor  the  splendid  building  known  as  the 
New  County  Court  House  was  erected.  His  fellow  members  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity in  taking  advantage  of  his  practical  knowledge  in  such  matters,  and 
he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  upon  its  erection.  As  a  proof  of 
his  fidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  county  it  remains  only  to  be  said  that  this 
fine  building,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the  country, 
cost  the  sum  of  only  $550,000. 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  Mr. 
Booth  during  his  term  as  supervisor,  were  those  which  arose  from  his  con- 
nection with  the  bounty  committee  during  the  progress  of  the  late  war. 
For  the  most  part,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  the  chairman  of  this 
committee,  its  most  arduous  duties  devolved  upon  him,  and  in  this,  as  in  all 
other  positions  in  which  it  has  been  his  fortune  to  be  placed,  he  was  always 
found  at  his  post  and  never  failed  to  meet  its  most  urgent  responsibilities. 
In  looking  after  the  raising  of  troops  to  meet  the  various  calls  for  them  by 
the  government  during  the  war,  his  watchfulness  never  ceased  regarding  the 
heavy  burden  which  of  necessity  fell  upon  Brooklyn,  and  he  never  deemed 
his  work  accomplished  so  long  as  any  opportunity  remained  whereby  that 
burden  might  be  lightened.  Nearly  all  of  the  money  expended  by  the 
county  in  the  payment  of  bounties  to  volunteers,  amounting  to  the  large  sum 
of  $3,800,000,  passed  through  his  hands.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  not  too  much 
to  say  that  the  opportunity  for  plunder,  which  would  in  the  present  state  of 
political  matters,  have  dazzled  many,  passed  by  without  leaving  a  stain  upon 
the  fair  name  of  Mr.  Booth,  and  no  one  of  the  Boys  in  Blue  who  represented 
Brooklyn  in  the  war,  or  of  the  widows  or  orphans  left  by  its  casualties  to 
seek  themselves  for  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  bounty  committee,  has  ever 
questioned  the  honesty  of  purpose  which  actuated  it  under  the  chairmanship 
of  Mr.  Booth. 

In  taking  the  chair  as  mayor  of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Booth  was  met  at  the  com- 
mencement with  the  fact,  that  the  political  party,  to  the  suffrages  of  which 
he  was  indebted  for  his  election,  was  in  a  minority  in  the  board  of  aldermen. 
He  felt  therefore  that  he  must  depend,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  political  op- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  |g] 

ponents  for  the  carrying  out  of  any  policy  which  might  occur  to  him  M  being 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  city.  His  honesty  of  purpose,  however,  and  his 
direct  and  unequivocal  bearing  toward  all  questions  relating  to  eity  affairs 
soon  won  for  him  the  confidence  of  all  parties,  mid  during  his  administration 

almost  all  recommendations  made  by  him  were  favorably  considered  and 
acted  upon  by  the  common  council.  His  watchfulness  as  regards  the  wel- 
fare of  the  city  was  proverbial.  He  brought  with  him  to  the  position,  the 
experience  of  a  lifetime,  almost,  in  city  and  county  matters,  and  dishonesty 
and  corruption  met  in  him  a  formidable  antagonist  at  the  outset.  His  judg- 
ment upon  ail  questions  was  unaffected  by  political  or  personal  friendship  or 
dislike,  and  at  the  close  of  his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  office  all 
parties  joined  in  the  almost  universal  expression  of  the  able  and  impartial  man- 
ner in  which  he  had  conducted  them.  It  was  enough  for  Mr.  Booth  to 
know  that  any  project  was  practically  advantageous  to  the  city  to  meet  with 
his  warmest  approval;  if  he  failed  to  see  this,  it  was  as  certain  of  his  con- 
stant and  unwavering  opposition,  and  whether  advocated  by  friends  or 
foes,  either  politically  or  personally,  was  always  to  him  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  indifference. 

To  his  credit  and  to  that  of  the  board  of  aldermen  it  is  said  that  no  veto 
which  he  ever  sent  to  that  body  was  overruled. 

No  one,  unless  intimately  acquainted  with  the  every  day  surroundings  of 
the  office  of  mayor,  can  appreciate  the  demands  for  assistance  and  pecuniary 
aid  in  all  manner  of  distress  which  are  constantly  being  made  upon  it.  To 
all  of  these  appeals  Mr.  Booth  lent  an  attentive  ear,  and  he  was  ever  ready 
with  his  purse  and  by  his  own  personal  efforts  in  some  way  to  aid  every  un- 
fortunate who  came  to  the  office  with  any  just  claim  for  relief. 

In  April,  1869,  Mr.  Booth  received  the  appointment  of  post  master  of  the 
city  of  Brooklyn. 

February  14th.  A  splendid  reception  was  given  to  the  90th 
New  York  Volunteer.-. 

February  26th.  The  legislature  passed  an  act,  creating  a 
Metropolitan  Sanitary  District,  and  Board  of  Health  therein,  for  the 
preservation  of  life  and  health,  and  to  prevent  the  spread  of  disease. 
The  sanitary  district  thus  created  was  the  same  as  that  already 
known  as  the  metropolitan  police  district ;  and  the  board  of 
health  was  composed  of  the  commissioners  of  said  metropolitan 
police,  and  of  four  sanitary  commissioners  (appointed  by  the  go- 
vernor) and  the  health  officer  of  the  port  of  Xew  York.     This 

61 


482  HflRTOBT  OF  BROOKLYN. 

board  (wherein  Brooklyn  was  represented  by  James  Crane,  M.D., 
as  sanitary  commissioner,  and  Thos.  G.  Bergen,  police  commis- 
sioner) organized  on  the  5th  of  March  ;  and,  on  the  10th,  Dr. 
John  T.  Conkling  was  elected  assistant  sanitary  superintendent, 
and  Dr.  E.  Cresson  Stiles  as  deputy  registrar  of  vital  statistics, 
and  detailed  for  duty  to  the  city  of  Brooklyn;  and  to  the  same 
city,  also,  were  assigned  six  sanitary  inspectors. 

The  prevalence  of  cholera  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  and  the 
almost  absolute  certainty  of  its  appearance  in  this  country  during 
the  year,  stimulated  the  new  board  of  health,  immediately  upon 
its  organization,  to  prepare  the  metropolitan  district  for  the 
arrival  of  the  epidemic.  On  the  18th  of  April,  the  steamer 
Virginia,  from  Liverpool,  arrived  at  quarantine,  with  the  cholera 
on  board,  it  having  appeared  among  the  steerage  passengers  on 
the  12th  of  that  month.  On  the  1st  of  May,  the  first  case  occurred 
in  New  York  city,  and  the  epidemic  continued  to  prevail  to  a 
very  moderate  extent  during  the  month  of  June;  increasing 
during  July ;  and,  from  the  15th  of  August,  decreasing  until 
October  15th. 

In  Brooklyn  the  first  distinctive  case  occurred  on  the  8th  of 
July,  and  its  increase,  then,  was  not  rapid  and  was  mostly  confined 
to  localities  in  different  sections  of  the  city  where  there  was  the 
greatest  amount  of  filth,  especially  in  the  Twelfth  ward,  in  which 
occurred  288  of  the  total  816  cases  in  Brooklyn.  A  hospital  was 
opened  at  the  corner  of  Hamilton  avenue  and  Van  Brunt  street, 
on  the  22d  of  July,  in  charge  of  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Thayer,  and  was 
closed  on  the  6th  of  September.  A  new  hospital  was  built  in  the 
City  Park,  opened  on  the  15th  of  August  under  Dr.  W.  F.  Swalm, 
and  closed  October  1st,  at  which  time  the  cholera  had  disappeared 
from  the  city.  The  entire  mortality  from  cholera,  in  Brooklyn, 
was  573;  to  which  might  undoubtedly  be  added,  if  all  the  facts 
were  known,  many  of  the  142  eases  of  cholera  morbus,  which 
proved  fatal.  The  full  details  and  statistics  of  this  epidemic  may 
be  found,  at  length,  in  the  report  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Health  for  1866. 

June  13.  Hon.  Moses  F.  Odell,  naval  officer  of  the  port  of 
New  York,   four  years  a  member  of  congress,  and  twenty-one 


STORI  OF  BROOKLYN.  183 

years  superintendent  of  the  sabbath  school  of  the  Bands  - 
Methodist  church,  died,  Rged  48. 
October  loth.     Celebration  of  the  completion  of  the  /.'      8 

iJn;  Dork. 

October  25th.  Was  rendered  memorable  in  our  civic  annals 
by  the  presentation  of  medals,  prepared  by  order  of  the  common 

council,  to  every  Brooklyn  soldier  who  had  returned  alive  and 

with  an  honorable  record,  from  the  many  battle-fields  of  the  Booth. 

Early  in  the  morning,  the  veteran-,  and  the  members  of  the 

various  militia  regiments  of  the   city,  gathered   at  the   assig 
places  to  participate  in  the  proceeding.     Nearly  qxqvy  house  was 
adorned   with  hunting,  and   the  City  Hall,  police  headquarters, 

and  other  puhlic  buildings  were  fairly  covered  with  flags.  The 
people  were  enthusiastic  in  their  manifestations  of  interest. 
Every  window  was  tilled,  and  the  housetops  crowded,  while  the 
streets  were  packed,  blue  and  grav  being  mingled  promiscuously. 

At  a  little  after  ten  o'clock,  his  excellency,  Gov.  Reuben  E. 
Fenton,  arrived  at  Fulton  ferry,  and  was  greeted  with  a  salute  of 
twenty-one  guns.  A  procession  was  then  formed  and  proceeded 
(ria  Fulton,  Sands  and  Washington  streets)  to  the  City  Kail, 
where  an  eager  throng  of  people  waited  for  their  arrival.  Every 
available  inch  of  space  was  packed,  and  many  were  disappointed 
in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  view.  The  military  were  halted  in  AVash- 
ington  street,  and  the  governor  and  his  staff,  the  committee  of  the 
common  council  and  the  invited  guests,  were  escorted  to  the 
governors  room,  where  quite  a  number  of  local  celebrities  were 
assembled.  The  army  and  navy  were  well  represented,  but  the 
clergymen  were  perhaps  in  a  majority. 

The  governor  was  welcomed  by  Mayor  Booth  in  a  few  well 
chosen  remarks,  and  then  introduced  to  the  audience.  Admiral 
Farragut  shortly  afterwards  made  his  appearance,  and  was 
greeted  with  three  rousing  cheers.  Loud  calls  were  then  made 
for  a  speech  from  Gov.  Fenton,  who  briefly  responded,  expressing 
his  thanks  for  the  welcome  extended  to  himself  and  staff. 

Admiral  Farragut  was  then  called  for,  and  he  at  length  came 
forward,  but  followed  the  example  of  his  predecessor  in  making 
"  brevity  the  soul  of  wit."  simply  returning  thanks  and  stating 


484  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

that  he  deeply  felt  the  compliment  bestowed  upon  him  through 
the  honors  shown  by  the  city  toward  her  soldiers  and  sailors. 

From  the  governor's  room,  the  procession,  with  augmented 
numbers,  reformed,  and  after  devious  marchings  arrived  at 
Fort  Greene,  where  the  presentation  exercises  took  place. 

A  staging  had  been  erected,  and  about  it  the  veterans  were 
massed.  After  a  few  preliminary  exercises,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Storrs 
was  introduced,  and  delivered  an  earnest  and  eloquent  address 
to  the  veterans. 

Mayor  Booth  then  made  the  following  presentation  speech,  as 
reported  in  the  Union  : 

Shortly  after  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee,  and  when  it  seemed  certain  that 
the  vaior  of  our  army  and  navy  had  subdued  the  rebellion,  it  was  suggested 
to  my  predecessor,  Col.  Wood,  that  the  sum  of  $10,000  should  be  raised  by 
tax  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  suitable  medals  to  be  presented  to  the 
heroic  survivors,  from  this  city,  of  many  a  hard-fought  conflict. 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  recite,  in  detail,  the  history  of  this  appropriation ; 
suffice  it  to  say  that  the  authorities  of  the  city,  with  entire  unanimity, 
granted  the  amount  asked  for  by  Col.  Wood  ',  and,  accordingly,  in  the  month 
of  March  of  this  year,  under  resolutions  presented  by  Alderman  Bliss,  the 
committee  on  war  and  military  affairs,  were  instructed  to  proceed  with 
the  work  of  preparing  the  medals,  which  you  are  now  to  receive.  Allow 
me,  just  at  this  point,  to  state  a  fact  which  I  deem  of  some  interest.  I  com- 
pute that,  during  this  war,  no  less  than  30,000  men  were  sent  forth  to  battle 
in  the  name  of  the  county  of  which  this  city  forms,  numerically,  so  large  a 
part.  To  say  nothing  of  our  citizens  enlisted  in  the  regiments  of  other 
states,  we  were  represented  in  over  one  hundred  and  eighty  regiments  and 
batteries  of  the  state  of  New  York.  I  believe  I  am  correct  in  saying  that 
fifteen  full  regiments  went  forth  from  this  county,  and  I  say  it  to  the  lasting 
credit  of  these  regiments,  and  of  those  of  our  citizens  whose  inclinations  led 
them  to  serve  in  regiments  outside  of  Kings  county,  that  we  have  never 
been  disgraced  in  the  person  of  our  representatives  in  the  army  or  navy. 

And  now  permit  me  to  say  that  I  feel  myself  honored  in  being  the  me- 
dium through  which  you  are  to-day  presented  with  this  testimonial  of  the 
estimation  in  which  you  are  held  by  your  fellow  citizens  for  your  heroic 
toils  and  sacrifices  in  the  preservation  of  our  union. 

The  medal  itself,  though  neat  and  tasteful  in  design  and  execution,  pos- 
sesses no  great  intrinsic  value.     Its  cost,  in  money,  is  not  large.     In  respect 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  485 

to  most  of  your  number  —  perhaps  all  —  T  am  sale  in  Baying  that  there  is 
not,  in  the  entire  eity,  money  enough  with  which  fco  procure  a  medal  that 
would  reward  you  for  your  patriotic  services  in  behalf  of  our  common 
country. 

The  medal  we  present  bears  with  it  that  which  money  cannot  purchase. 
It  represents  the  heart  and  voice  of  more  than  three  hundred  thousand 
people.  It  is  a  token  of  your  gallantry,  and  of  their  gratitude  for  services 
rendered,  throughout  four  years,  of  war  in  defense  of  their  homes  and  fire- 
sides, and,  looked  at  in  this  light,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  will  be  preserved 
and  valued  more  highly  than  silver  or  gold  by  every  brave  man  who  has 
represented  the  city  of  Brooklyn  in  this  war. 

The  small  ribbon  won  by  the  French  soldier  as  a  mark  of  heroic  deeds  is 
prized  as  highly  as  life  itself.  It  bears  evidence  that  the  wearer  has  done 
something  for  the  glory  of  France.  The  testimonial  we  present  you  to-day 
bears  evidence  that  you  have  done  very  much  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
good  government  throughout  the  world. 

Its  meaning  is  that  you  have  aided  in  no  small  degree  to  save  the  great 
republic  from  anarchy  and  ruin.  It  means  a  preserved  nation.  No  kingly 
gifts —  these  medals  were  suggested,  as  they  are  now  given  to  you,  by  the 
warm  impulses  of  your  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens.  Soldiers  and  sailors, 
we  are  fond  of  you. 

As  you  stand  here  before  us,  we  can  but  feel  that  you  represent  one  of  the 
noblest  phases  of  American  institutions.  Coming  up  from  the  people  as 
you  did  at  the  simple  call  of  your  country,  you  have  proved  that  the  strong 
heart  of  the  people  can  be  trusted,  and  you  have  done  more,  by  your  self- 
sacrifices  and  your  patriotism,  to  add  dignity  and  lustre  to  your  country's 
name  than  anything  which  has  been  accomplished  since  the  first  dawn  of 
the  nation's  life. 

That  you  may  long  live  to  bear  with  you  the  honors  which  you  have  so 
nobly  won,  is  the  heartfelt  wish  of  all  of  us.  It  has  been  my  pleasure  and 
pride  to  have  been  connected,  to  a  very  great  extent,  with  these  matters  iu 
Kings  county.  I  have  watched  your  course  from  the  commencement  with 
a  hearty  satisfaction,  and  it  is  with  feelings  very  difficult  for  me  to  express 
that  I  proceed  to  perform  the  grateful  duty  which  devolves  upon  me  to-day. 

After  the  mayor's  remarks,  Ex-Mayor  Wood  responded  in 
loyal  and  affecting  language,  highly  eulogizing  the  bravery  and 
endurance  of  the  men  who  represented  Brooklyn  in  the  army  and 
navy  during  the  late  war. 


486 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


The  mayor  then  mounted  the  stand  and  announced  the  song, 
"  We'll  rally  round  the  flag  boys,"  and  being  disappointed  in  not 
finding  a  leader  there,  led  off  himself,  and  those  on  the  stage,  in- 
cluding Admiral  Farragut,  his  staff,  Gov.  Fenton,  and  his  staff,  Dr. 
Storrs,  and  the  Common  Council,  all  went  at  it  enthusiastically  ;  " 
the  three  thousand  veterans  and  all  the  spectators  joining  in  with 
right  good  will  and  fine  effect. 

The  ceremony  of  distributing  the  medals  was  then  gone 
through  with,  and  the  exercises  were  ended. 


Reverse  of  Soldier's 
Medal. 


Reverse  of  Sailor's 
Medal. 


In  the  evening  a  banquet  was  given  at  the  Arsenal,  at  the 
close  of  which,  when  the  civilians  had  dispersed,  General  Ro- 
berts and  staff,  and  a   large  number  of  other  veteran  officers 


HI8T0B1  OF  BROOKLYN.  "487 

foamed  a  circle  and  passed  away  the  time,  as  they  <li<l   OB  many 

a  bivouac,  and  about  the  camp  Bre,  in  singing  "  Benny  Havens, 
() !  M  and  other  patriotic  songs;  relating  anecdotes  of  the  service, 
and  expressing  patriotic  sentiments.  There  wa>  no  expression 
of  partisan  politics  in  that  goodly  company,  as  there  had  been 

among  the  one  thousand  civic  guests,  hut  brotherhood,  and  a 
common  adulation  of  the  dear  old  flag,  was  the  order  of  the 
evening.  On  separating,  those  comrades  in  danger  and  hardship, 
knowing  not  whether  there  would  ever  be  occasion  again  for 
them  to  be  together,  joined  hands  and  sung  Auld  Lang  Sync. 

"  The  following  list  comprises  the  entire  organizations  of  vete- 
rans that  appeared  in  column,  as  organized  by  Brevet  Lieut.  Col. 
Wooley,  chief  of  Staff: 

"  Col.  E.  Schnapf,  of  the  20th  New  York,  commanding,  as- 
sisted by  Capt.  F.  W.  Obermeyer,  46th  New  York,  and  Capt. 
Henry  Wills,  133d  New  York,  and  comprising  700  men  and 
50  officers  of  the  following  named  organizations:  United  States 
Navy,  the  1st,  2d,  3d,  5th,  7th,  20th,  46th,  52d,  54th,  58th, 
99th,  103d,  133d,  and  173d  regiments  of  New  York  Volunteer 
Infantry. 

"The  158th  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  170  men,  10  offi- 
cers, Major  Wm,  M.  Bennett,  commanding ;  the  5th  Xew  York 
Artillery,  115  men,  13  officers,  Col.  Samuel  Graham,  command- 
ing; Taft's5th  New  York  Independent  Battery,  32  men,  3  offi- 
cers, Capt.  E.  D.  Taft,  commanding;  1st  Long  Island,  145 
men,  3  officers,  Brevet  Col.  Gr.  W.  Stilwell,  commanding; 
Company  F,  10th  Regiment  National  Zouaves,  40  men  ;  48th 
New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  209  men  ;  Col.  W.  B.  Barton, 
commanding;  87th  Regiment,  Brooklyn  Rifles,  51  men,  6 
officers,  Col.  R.  A.  Bachia,  commanding;  159th  New  York, 
68  men,  7  officers;  174th  New  York,  60  men,  7  officers;  98th 
New  York  Infantry,  70  men,  15  officers,  51st  New  York,  40 
men  ;  the  14th  of  Brooklyn  also  paraded  with  this  regiment, 
100  uniformed  men. 

"  There  were,  also,  about  300  men  and  20  officers,  not  represented 
by  any  organization,  but  sons  of  Brooklyn,  who  had  belonged 
to  other  organizations  throughout  the  state  and  the  union.     These 


488  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

were  organized  by  Brevet  Lieut.  Col.  William  Hemstreet,  18th 
Missouri  Infantry,  and  placed  under  command  of  Col.  Olmstead, 
139th  New  York.  All  of  the  above,  exclusive  of  the  14th 
Brooklyn,  consisted  of  uniformed  veterans,  and  numbered  in 
the  aggregate,  2,049  men,  and  148  officers.  In  addition  to  these, 
were  probably  as  large,  or  a  larger  number,  within  the  uniformed 
militia  organizations. 

"  The  disabled  heroes  who  were  seated  in  carriages  were  the  ob- 
jects of  much  care  and  attention  from  officers,  soldiery,  and  citizens. 
On  arriving  at  the  staging,  they  were  seized  by  brigadier-gene- 
rals, civic  officials,  citizens,  and  militia,  and  lifted  over  the  heads 
of  the  crowd,  and  seated  on  the  platform;  and  at  the  termination 
of  the  ceremonies  were  driven  to  their  homes,  in,  to  them,  unpre- 
cedented style." 

1867.  January  23d.  The  East  river  between  Brooklyn  and 
New  York  wa3  bridged  over  by  ice  !     The  Eagle  of  that  date  says : 

During  last  night  (22d)  the  ice  which  yesterday  moved  up  the  river,  causing 
so  much  delay,  came  down  with  the  turning  of  the  tide,  and  the  same  difficul- 
ties in  ferry  navigation  were  experienced.  Boats,  however,  did  not  attempt 
to  cross,  except  at  long  intervals.  The  cold  of  the  night  exceeding  that  of 
the  day,  made  it  more  difficult,  and  darkness  still  further  increased  the  dan- 
gers of  the  undertaking.  Finding  it  impossible  to  make  the  New  York  slip 
at  Fulton  ferry,  the  pilots  were  glad  to  put  in  at  the  Catharine  slip  on  the 
New  York  side,  on  the  principle  of  "  any  port  in  a  storm."  The  milkmen, 
market  farmers  and  newspaper  men  were  not  particular,  so  that  they  got 
across  somewhere  near  on  time. 

Meantime  the  boat,  struggling  out  of  Fulton  ferry,  in  the  New  York  slip, 
found  itself  imprisoned,  and  the  chilly  dawn  brought  the  discovery  that  she 
was  frozen  in  as  effectually  as  was  ever  Dr.  Kane  in  the  Arctic  ocean  —  dif- 
fering only  in  degree.  This  was  too  bad,  and  things  did  not  improve  at  that 
point  until  fully  ten  o'clock.  As  the  light  became  strong,  an  experienced 
Fulton  market  dealer  made  a  bet  that  he  could  cross  on  the  ice,  and  won 
easily.  He  left  Beekman  street,  New  York,  closely  followed  by  two  others  to 
rescue  him  in  case  of  accident.  The  trio  proceeded  a  little  down  stream, 
and  leaving  Fulton  ferry  to  the  eastward,  struck  the  Brooklyn  shore  at 
DeForrest's  stores,  a  couple  of  blocks  below  the  city  flour  mills.  Of  course 
the  example  was  contagious,  and  every  one  who  could,  dared,  or  wished, 
started  and  made  the  trip  across  to  New  York  on  foot  and  for  nothing. 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKM  N.  489 

As  long  as  i  he  ice  renmincd  bridged  and  fastened,  an  open  Bea  was  left 
from  a  little  below  Fulton  ferry,  Brooklyn  side,  to  Green-Point,  thus  making 
tbe  ferries  between  these  points  as   available  as  in  a  Bummer's  day.     The 

great  majority  of  those  who  must  go  to  New  Fork  were  thus  ferried 
without  any  detention.  A  large  number  of  those  who  always  prefer  to  walk 
when  they  cau,  those  who  like  to  perform  a  novel  Peat  and  those  who  were 
curious  to  see  how  it  felt  to  be  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  rushed  down  to 
DeForrest's  stores,  through  an  arched  way  and  upon  the  ice.  In  this  man- 
ner probably  not  less  then  five  thousand  persons  crossed.  A  policeman  lifted 
them  on  shore  at  the  foot  of  Beekman  street,  and  away  they  went.  One 
person  with  more  lungs  and  vanity  than  the  majority,  ran  across  six  times, 
that  he  might  brag  over  his  performance  hereafter.  All  this  time  a  couple 
of  tugs  laid  off  in  the  clear  water,  just  above  the  line  of  the  ice  bridge,  or 
from  Fulton  to  Peck  slip  ferry;  the  tide  was  running  up  stream  rapidly, 
and  the  sun  began  to  warm  up  the  atmosphere  considerably.  The  boat- 
men expected,  perhaps  hoped,  that  some  adventurous  individual  would  be 
set  afloat  upon  cakes  of  ice,  in  order  that  they  might  rescue  them  for  a  con- 
sideration. 

The  people  were  becoming  emboldened  each  moment,  while  the  ice  support 
was  growing  less  trustworthy,  xlt  last  two  ladies  were  seen  to  venture  in  com- 
pany with  one  gentleman.  They  reached  the  other  shore  in  safety,  were 
handed  up,  and  can  now  feel  reasonably  vain  of  being  the  only  two  ladies 
who  have  walked  over  the  river  in  eleven  years.  Two  compositors  in  the 
Eagle  office  cut  their  sticks  for  the  river  and  took  a  double  quick  to  the 
other  side,  where,  after  disbursing  thirty  cents  in  honor  of  their  exploit, 
they  took  a  triumphal  walk  in  return,  satisfied  that  they  had  done '-a  big 
thing  on  ice.'7  Hundreds  on  both  sides  of  the  river  crossed  just  for  the  fun 
of  the  thing. 

At  a  few  moments  past  ten  o'clock  the  force  of  the  current  had  so 
weakened  the  ice  in  the  centre  of  the  river,  that  it  began  to  show  signs  of 
giving  way.  Recently  jammed  in  together,  and  each  cake  depending  for 
the  permanency  of  its  position  upon  all  others,  a  breaking  up  becomes  a 
serious  thing  to  those  who  are  upon  the  treacherous  surface.  All  at  once 
the  ice  began  to  move,  a  long  cake  broke  off  lengthwise,  in  the  track  along 
which  persons  were  traveling.  This  caused  a  scattering,  all  persons  being 
in  a  hurry  to  reach  either  shore.  The  long  line,  broken  in  the  middle, 
bent  back  upon  itself  and  made  the  ice  still  more  uncertain  by  the  force  of 
their  falling  feet.  Three  persons  came  to  the  Brooklyn  shore,  pretty  well  wet 
and  frightened  \  they  had  gone  in,  one  of  them  to  the  waist.  A  boy 
scrambling  on  shore,  near  DeForrest's  dock,  was  thrown  back  by  a  rising  cake 

62 


490 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


of  ice  and  nearly -  submerged.  All  four  escaped,  however,  and  they  are 
among  the  persons  who  will  not  hurriedly  repeat  their  hazardous  experi- 
ment. 

Very  soon  the  whole  ice  which  had  formed  this  bridge  reaching  from 
South  to  Fulton  ferry,  began  to  move  with  great  force  up  the  river.  The 
damage  to  shipping  has  not  thus  far  been  very  considerable  j  the  most  men- 
tionable,  being  that  caused  by  a  brig  lying  by  the  City  Flour  Mills,  just 
west  of  Fulton  ferry.  This  vessel  was  driven  from  its  fastenings  by  the 
ice,  its  bowsprit  forced  into  an  elevator  and  broken  off,  nearly  upsetting  it, 
and  in  the  rebound  striking  the  stern  of  one  of  the  Knickerbocker  Ice 
Company's  barges,  staving  it  in. 

From  ten  o'clock  until  half-past  eleven  this  morning,  the  whole  ice  moved 
up  stream,  impeding  the  travel  by  ferry  boats  as  before,  but  still  no  great 
delay  resulted.  At  noon  time,  and  just  previous  to  this,  while  the  ice  was 
still,  a  number  of  chaps  full  of  risk,  struck  out  from  New  York  for  Brook- 
lyn, They  got  across,  and  were  followed  by  a  large  crowd.  The  ice  began 
then  to  move  down  stream,  and  carried  with  it  about  thirty  persons  upon  one 
cake,  down  towards  Governor's  island.  They  were  all  rescued  by  tugs,  and 
charged  generously  for  the  service  rendered. 

This  is  the  third  time  of  late  years  that  the  East  river  has  been  similarly 
bridged.1  It  never  happens  except  when  a  thaw  occurring  causes  the  North 
river  to  send  down  fields  of  heavy  ice;  followed  by  a  south-west  wind, 
which  blows  these  heavy  cakes  into  the  East  river,  where  they  oscillate  from 
Governor's  to  Blackwell's  island  and  block  up  navigation.  A  cold  spell 
succeeding  this  makes  the  ice  sufficiently  firm  to  bear  up  the  weight  of 
those  who  choose  to  cross. 

1  In  1852  and  1856.  The  Eagle  of  January  20th,  1852,  says,  "  The  cold  which  hap 
been  remarkably  great  for  the  last  few  days,  became  so  intense  last  night  that  the 
East  river  became  thoroughly  bridged  and  sheeted  over,  and  this  morning  the  ferry 
boats  were  so  completely  wedged  in  their  places,  at  the  docks,  that  no  passage 
could  be  made  during  the  morning.  The  people  began  to  cross  the  ice,  and  a  con- 
tinuous stream  of  passengers  ventured  to  walk  the  waters,  the  ice  being  strong  enough 
to  sustain  them.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  East  river  presented  quite  an  animated 
scene  of  people  passing,  and  boys  skating,  etc.,  when  the  tide  continuing  to  rise 
broke  the  ice  from  its  moorings  and  sent  it  adrift.  Those  on  the  ice  were  not  aware 
of  their  perilous  position  for  a  considerable  time,  though  shouted  to  by  persons 
from  the  shore,  until  coming  to  land  they  found  their  approach  cut  off.  Their  condition 
became  alarming,  the  ice  breaking  in  pieces  and  floating  hither  and  thither  with  the 
tide.  Ropes  were  lowered  from  vessels  in  the  river,  and  a  great  number  of  ladies 
taken  on  board  and  safely  landed.  Chivalrous  individuals  on  shore  began  to  fit 
out  some  small  Sir  John  Franklin  expeditions  to  rescue  those  perched  upon  the  ice- 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN  491 

April  8th.  By  the  efforts,  mainly,  of  A.  E.  Mudie,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  at  which  was 
organized  a  Brooklyn  Branch  of  the  American  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals. 

May  9th.  By  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  this  day,  the 
Inebriate's  Home  for  Kings  County  was  duly  incorporated. 

May  10th.  The  legislature  passed  an  act,  providing  for  the 
improvement,  by  dredging  and  docking  of  the  Gowanus  Canal, 
and  placing  the  control  of  said  work  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  ; 
and  May  11th,  another  commission  was  appointed  for  the  so-called 
Wallabout  Improvement,  at  the  foot  of  Washington  avenue. 

July  24th.  Street  commissioner  Robert  Furey,  acting  under 
authority  of  the  common  council,  having  previously  given  twenty 
days  notice  to  owners  of  stores  and  other  obstructions  at  the  foot 
of  streets  on  the  water  front  owned  by  the  city,  to  remove  the 
same,  proceeded  this  day,  with  a  force  of  workmen  to  remove  said 
obstructions,  and  raised  quite  a  commotion. 

August.  Three  cases  of  yellow  fever  occurred  in  Xew  York, 
one  of  which  was  evidently  contracted  while  removing  cotton 
from  the  Atlantic  docks,  in  Brooklyn ;    and  one  case  was  re- 


bergs.  The  master  of  the  brig  Oxford  very  generously  sent  out  the  boat  belonging 
to  his  vessel,  and  rescued  about  seventy  persons.  Mr.  Wm.  C.  Hall,  a  ship  carpenter 
of  New  York,  signalized  himself  by  his  efforts  in  getting  people  to  land.  Two 
boys,  in  rashly  endeavoring  to  come  ashore,  fell  into  the  water  and  narrowly  escaped 
drowning. 

"  Several  large  platforms  of  ice  covered  with  people,  were  drifted  down  to  Govern- 
or's island,  where  the  persons  succeeded  in  gaining  the  land.  The  boats,  shortly 
after  eleven  o'clock  a.m.,  began  to  disentangle  themselves  and  force  a  passage 
through  the  ice." 

The  Eagle  of  Monday,  February  11th,  1856,  says :  "  The  East  river  was  completely 
bridged  over  on  Saturday  night,  by  an  immense  flow  of  ice  of  sufficient  solidity  to 
admit  a  passage  across  on  foot.  Alfred  Hodges,  John  Cole,  and  another,  taking 
advantage  of  the  circumstance,  lowered  a  life  boat  into  the  slip  on  this  side,  and 
undertook  the  journey,  dragging  the  boat  with  them  for  use  in  case  of  neces-ity. 
They  found  the  ice  compact  enough  to  bear  heavy  teams,  and  experienced  no  diffi- 
culty in  passing  to  the  other  side.  They  landed  at  Burling  slip,  and  taking  a  drink 
to  keep  out  the  cold,  returned  in  the  same  manner  and  by  the  same  route  they  came, 
highly  elated  with  their  success. 

"  This  was  the  time  when  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  two  ladies  crossed,  just  as 
the  ice  was  breaking  up,  and  came  very  near  being  drowned." 


492  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

ported  by  Deputy  Registrar  R.  Cresson  Stiles,  to  have  occurred 
in  Bergen  street,  Brooklyn,  the  patient  having  visited  the  lower 
quarantine,  and,  without  permission,  boarded  an  infected  vessel. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  an  Italian  vessel,  the  Chiara,  arrived  in 
Brooklyn,  from  the  Mediterranean,  with  a  load  of  oranges  and 
other  fruits.  After  the  cargo  was  discharged,  several  of  the  crew 
sickened,  and  the  vessel  went  to  Newtown  creek,  where  the  three 
remaining  seamen  were  attacked.  The  disease,  however,  could 
not  properly  be  called  yellow  fever.  On  17th  September,  a  work- 
man in  a  glass  house,  near  the  dock  where  this  vessel  was  moored, 
was  taken  with  symptoms  of  yellow  fever  and  died ;  and  on  the 
seventh  day,  four  others  were  attacked.  The  disease  was  differ- 
ent from  any  other  malady  that  prevailed  in  the  district,  and 
according  to  the  report  of  Dr.  Stiles  (Metropolitan  Board  of  Health 
Report  for  1867)  the  symptoms  and  post-mortem  appearances  re- 
sembled yellow  fever. 

1868.  January  1st.  The  duties  of  the  mayoralty  were  this  day 
assumed,  for  the  second  time,  by  Martin  Kalbfleisch,  whose  election, 
in  the  fall  of  the  preceding  year,  we  have  already  chronicled. 

Martin  Kalbfleisch  was  born  in  Flushing,  Netherlands,  on  the  8th 
of  February,  1804,  and  received  a  thorough  education  at  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  town.  That  place,  however,  offering  but  little  oppor- 
tunity for  advancement  or  success  in  commercial  or  other  pursuits,  he  deter- 
mined to  seek  his  fortunes  elsewhere  j  and,  with  that  view,  took  passage  in 
1822,  for  Padang.on  the  coast  of  Sumatra,  in  an  American  vessel,  the  Ellen 
Douglass  of  Salem,  Mass.  On  arriving  at  Padang  he  found  the  Asiatic 
cholera  raging  fearfully,  and  therefore  reembarked  for  Antwerp,  where  the 
vessel  was  sold ;  and  at  the  request  of  the  captain,  an  American,  accompanied 
him  to  France,  where  they  were  engaged  in  commercial  operations  together, 
for  four  years.  During  this  period,  his  inclinations  led  him  to  look  upon  the 
United  States  as  his  future  home;  and,  accordingly,  in  1826,  he  carried 
that  project  into  execution.  Having  but  few  acquaintances  or  friends,  and 
but  little  means,  upon  his  arrival,  he  found  himself  obliged  to  accept  of  any 
employment  that  offered  ;  until,  in  1835,  when  he  had  accumulated  sufficient 
means,  he  was  enabled  to  establish  a  color  manufactory  at  Harlem,  on  New 
York  Island,  where  he  then  resided.  The  high  prices  at  that  time  paid  for 
property  induced  him  to  sell  his  place  and  locate  in  Connecticut.  This 
move,  however,  proving  unsuccessful,  he  was  induced  to  return  to  the  environs 


<— ^S^-^^^S^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  493 

of  New  York,  and  finally  determined  to  locate  at  Green-Point,  as  offering 

the  best  facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  his  business,  and  there  he  settled, 
in  1842.  His  family  being  somewhat  numerous,  he  found  th<^  want  of  a 
school  house  to  be  a  serious  drawback,  and  immediately  applied  himself  to 
remedying  the  want.  He  organized  the  district  (comprising  all  of  Green- 
Point  up  to  line  of  Remsen  street);  got  the  use  of  the  dilapidated  old  Bchool 
house  near  the  Bushwick  church,  repaired  it,  and  obtained  the  services  of  a 
teacher,  Mr.  Norman  Andrews,  still  living.  By  perseverance  he  soon  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  new  school  house  erected  at  Green-Point;  and 
this  has  been  followed  up  until  that  section  of  our  city,  at  this  day,  has  do  lees 
than  four  large  and  admirably  equipped  edifices  devoted  to  the  instruction  of 
its  youth.  As  Mr.  Kalbfleisch's  business  expanded,  the  want  of  room  compelled 
him,  about  twenty  years  since,  to  remove  his  factory  to  its  present  location, 
between  Metropolitan  and  Grand  avenues.  For  many  years  he  has  made  the 
manufacture  of  acids  a  specialty,  and  has  continually  increased  the  extent 
of  his  works  until  they  now  embrace  several  acres,  and  are  the  most  exten- 
sive in  the  country.  The  business  (conducted  for  some  years  under  the 
firm  style  of  M.  Kalbfleisch  &  Sons),  has  recently  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  latter  (under  the  firm  style  of  M.  Kalbfleisch's  Sons),  M.  Kalbfleisch 
having  amassed  sufficient  means  to  enable  him  to  retire. 

Mr.  Kalbfleisch  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  politics  j  and,  although 
for  many  years  a  hard  worker  in  the  democratic  ranks,  did  not  aspire  to 
office.  Circumstances,  however,  made  him,  in  1851,  a  candidate  for  super- 
visorship  of  the  old  town  of  Bushwick,  to  which  office  he  was  elected,  and 
which  he  held  until  the  town  was  consolidated  with  the  cities  of  Brooklyn 
and  Williamsburgh.  In  1853,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners 
to  draw  up  a  charter,  for  the  proposed  consolidation  of  the  cities  of  Brooklyn 
and  Williamsburgh,  and  acted  as  president  of  the  board. 

In  1854  he  became  the  democratic  candidate  for  mayor  of  the  consolidated 
city,  but  was  defeated  by  George  Hall.  Inl855  he  was  elected  alderman  of 
the  18th  ward,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  May,  1861,  when  he  became 
mayor  of  the  city.  He  served  three  years  as  president  of  the  board  of  alder- 
men, and  the  last  time  he  was  elected  alderman,  received  all  the  votes  but 
one  cast  in  his  ward  for  that  office.  In  1862  Mr.  Kalbfleisch  was  elected 
a  representative  to  congress  from  his  district,  and  in  1867  reelected  mayor 
of  the  city,  which  office  he  now  occupies. 

Mayor  Kalbfleisch,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  is  a  member  of  various  commis- 
sions, and  a  trustee  of  several  institutions.  He  is,  also,  a  director  in  two  of 
our  banks,  insurance  companies,  the  Trust  company,  etc.,  and  president  of 
the  Prospect  Park  Fair  Grouud  Association.     He  is  an  excellent  linguist, 


494  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

speaking  four  languages  fluently ;  has  a  ripe  experience  in  public  matters ; 
manages  his  official  trusts  with  prudence,  energy  and  business  tact ;  thinks 
for  himself;  has  clear  ideas  upon  all  matters  submitted  to  his  judgment  or 
approval ;  and  is  never  afraid  to  use  his  veto  prerogative. 

April  16th.  A  Board  of  Estimate  and  Disbursements  of  the 
fire  department  was  appointed  by  legislative  enactment. 

May  6th.  A  Department  for  the  Survey  and  Inspection  of  Build- 
ings, in  the  Western  District  of  the  city,  was  appointed  by  act  of 
legislature. 

May  31st.  Sabbath.  The  graves  of  soldiers,  at  Cypress  hills, 
were  this  day  strewn  with  wreaths  and  flowers  by  the  ladies, 
citizens  and  their  surviving  comrades  in  arms.  Addresses  were 
delivered  by  several  of  the  clergy,  and  appropriate  music  was 
performed.  The  whole  affair  was  under  the  auspices  of  the 
veterans. 

June  21st.  The  corner-stone  of  the  great  Roman  Catholic 
Cathedral  was  laid,  with  much  ceremony. 

July  8th.  The  old  Howard  estate,  at  East  New  York,  was  this 
day  sold  at  auction.  The  historic  tavern  known  as  Howard's, 
or  the  Half-way  House,  on  the  East  New  York  and  Jamaica 
road,  the  Broadway  plank  road  and  Howard  Place,  together  with 
about  four  acres  of  land,  was  sold  for  $21,000  to  Mr.  Henry  R. 
Pierson,  president  of  the  Brooklyn  City  Eail  Road  Company. 

November  12th.  The  Brooklyn  Academy  of  Design  had  its  first 
opening  on  the  evening  of  this  day. 

November  14th.  A  terrible  collision  occurred  on  the  New 
York  side  of  the  Fulton  ferry,  between  two  of  the  Union  Ferry 
Company's  boats,  which  is  thus  described  in  the  Union  of  that 
date: 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  the  stream  of  people  passing  down 
Fulton  avenue  to  cross  the  river,  were  met  and  startled  by  a  rumor  that  a 
fearful  disaster  had  taken  place  on  Fulton  ferry.  In  a  few  minutes  all 
Brooklyn  was  wild  with  excitement,  and  many  a  peaceful  home  that  had 
sent  out  its  representatives  to  their  daily  avocations,  was  torn  with  doubt  and 
fear.  As  the  hours  passed,  and  the  truth  began  to  appear  from  the  thickly 
thronging  reports,  the  extent  of  the  accident,   though  sad  enough  to  cast 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  495 

a  gloom  on  every  portion  of  our  city,  was  found  to  be  far  less  than   waf  at 
first  apprehended. 

The  accident  occurred  about  half-past  MV6D  o'clock,  at  which  time  the 
tide  was  running  out.  The  Union  was  in  the  lower  slip,  haying  disci] 
her  passengers  for  New  York,  and  received  on  board  a  small  number  of  pas- 
sengers for  Brooklyn.  The  Hamilton  was  going  in,  heavily  laden  with 
passengers,  a  large  number  of  whom  were  at  the  forward  portion  of  the 
boat.  The  bow  was  crowded,  as  were  also  the  hoods  (the  covered  portion 
of  the  boat  between  the  cabin  and  bow).  The  crowd  was  &a  osnal,  the 
greatest  on  the  side  of  the  ladies'  cabin,  and  particularly  under  the  hood, 
and  about  the  railings.  As  the  Hamilton  was  headed,  the  ladies'  cabin  was 
on  the  port  side,  where  the  crowd  was  greatest,  and  the  boat  more  depressed 
in  the  water. 

As  the  Hamilton  entered  the  slip  the  tide  threw  her  towards  the  Union, 
and  as  her  wheelman  was  unable  to  change  her  direction,  a  collision  was  the 
result.  The  Hamilton  being  loaded  down  in  the  bow,  and  the  Union  having 
little  or  no  load  on  board,  the  consequence  was  that  the  overhang  of  the 
Union  was  about  two  feet  higher  than  that  of  the  Hamilton.  The  collision 
was  the  work  of  an  instant. 

As  the  Hamilton  neared  her  slip  in  a  diagonal  direction,  the  ebb  tide 
having  carried  her  down,  the  crowding  of  the  two  boats  was  so  gradual,  and 
the  mass  of  people  who  were  on  the  bow  of  the  Hamilton  and  under  her 
port  hood,  was  so  dense,  that  the  imminence  of  the  collision  was  not 
known  until  the  crashing  of  timbers  and  the  shrieks  of  the  people,  with  their 
rushing  away  from  the  side  of  the  boat,  appalled  every  one  with  the  fact  that 
death  and  mutilation  were  upon  them.  The  bow  of  the  Union  had  over- 
lapped the  deck  of  the  Hamilton  by  six  or  eight  feet,  carrying  away  the 
gunwale,  and  smashing  in  the  cabin  and  hood  sides.  There,  under  the 
Union,  the  Hamilton  was  now  fast.  The  scene  is  hardly  to  be  described. 
Terror  or  eager  sympathy  was  upon  every  countenance.  Crowds  were  rush- 
ing forward  to  the  scene  of  destruction,  while  others  were  vainly  endeavoring 
to  press  them  back.  Among  the  shouts  of  men  who  were  endeavoring  to 
preserve  order  were  the  shrieks  of  the  injured  who  were  under  the  timbers. 
Large  numbers  of  people  were  rushing  off  from  the  boat,  while  others  were 
rushing  from  the  bridge  upon  her.  The  police,  however,  who  were  near  the 
scene,  soon  restored  some  order,  and  the  unfortunate  ones  began  to  be  rescued. 


Twenty  persons  were  injured  by  this  accident,  one  of  whom, 
a  boy  named  George  Brower,  was  instantly  killed,  while  others 


496  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

received  serious  fractures,  contusions,  etc.  The  accident  had  no 
inconsiderable  effect  in  forming  the  public  mind  towards  the 
building  of  a  bridge  across  the  East  River. 

December  1st.  Fort  Lafayette,  opposite  Fort  Hamilton,  de- 
stroyed by  fire. 

December  21st.  The  Common  Council,  by  a  vote  of  15  to  4, 
authorized  a  loan  of  $3,000,000,  to  the  New  York  Bridge  Com- 
pany's proposed  East  River  Bridge,  on  condition  that  the  sum 
of  $2,000,000  be  first  subscribed  to  the  capital  stock  by  other 
parties;  and  that  the  company's  charter  be  so  amended,  that  the 
city's  interests  be  represented  in  the  board  of  directors,  by  three 
city  officers  comprising  the  commissioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund 
of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  for  the  time  being.  The  Eagle  of  the  22d, 
in  commenting  upon  this  action,  says : 

"  The  city  has  done  its  duty.  The  public  spirit  of  our  citizens  must  do 
the  rest.  To  those  who  have  an  interest  in  the  city  the  question  is  not 
merely  will  the  bridge  pay  as  an  investment,  but  will  it  pay  to  wed  Long 
Island  with  the  island  of  Manhattan,  and  to  share  fully  in  the  princely  for- 
tunes of  our  sister  city  ?  To  the  wealthy  and  the  comparatively  poor  owners 
of  property  in  Brooklyn,  or  to  those  who  ever  hope  to  own  a  spot  they  can 
call  home,  there  is  but  one  answer  to  such  a  question.  Last  night's  action 
even  has  added  millions  to  the  value  of  Brooklyn  property.  Its  consumma- 
tion in  the  completion  of  the  bridge  will  more  than  double  our  real  wealth. 
With  new  duties  come  new  responsibilities.  We  can  build  the  bridge  and 
save  its  cost  too,  if  we  agree  to  sink  for  the  time  all  other  differences  in  the 
common  and  grand  desire  to  make  our  city  speedily  what  it  is  destined 
some  time  to  be." 


December  28th.  The  new  Brooklyn  Skating  Rink  in  Clermont 
Avenue,  was  opened  to  the  public,  and  the  beautiful  building  of 
the  Kings  County  Savings  Bank,  E.  D.  was  formally  opened  and 
inaugurated. 

Some  idea  of  the  wonderful  growth  of  Brooklyn  during  this 
year  (1868),  may  be  gained  from  the  following  abstract  of  an  arti- 
cle in  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  of  February  16,  1869. 

"  Later  residents  can  hardly  conceive  the  rapid  growth  of  Brooklyn 
during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century.     Twenty-five  years  ago,  corn  grew  on 


HISTORY  OP  BROOKLYN.  497 

Montague  street —  Court  street  had  no  existence,  and  the  fashionable  loca- 
lity of  South  Brooklyn  was  but  i  dreary  Band-hill.     Twenty-fire  yean 
the  aristocracy  gathered  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Navy  Yard,  for  the  gold 

lace  and  gilt  buttons  had  much  the  same  attraction  then  as  now.  Later, 
the  principal  business  portion  of  the  city  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fulton 
ferry.  All  the  banks,  insurance  companies,  and  newspaper  offices  were 
gathered  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  the  lawyers  congregated  about 
the  corner  of  Front  and  Fulton  streets ;  and,  in  fact,  the  first  block  of  Fulton 
street,  was  the  exchange  of  Brooklyn,  where  the  prominent  men  of  the  city 
were  most  apt  to  be  found  during  business  hours.  The  building  of  the  City 
Hall  altered  this,  for  all  the  lawyers  and  most  of  the  incorporated  institu- 
tions moved  to  that  place  and  it  became  the  business  centre.  Hou 
there  is  another  change  and  the  lower  part  of  Fulton  street  is  resuming  its 
former  bustle  and  activity,  and,  as  a  business  centre,  is  rivaling  the  Hall. 
The  business  is  hardly  the  same,  for  there  is  an  infusion  of  the  wholesale 
trade,  and  many  large  manufactories  are  within  easy  distance  of  the  street, 
so  that  the  moneyed  institutions  have  found  that  they  did  wisely  in  remain- 
ing in  their  old  spots.  Brooklyn  is  no  longer  a  village,  but  supports 
ral  business  centres;  and,  as  it  spreads  farther  towards  what  is  now  its 
outskirts,  other  centres  will  spring  up  without  interfering  with  the  old  ones. 
During  the  past  twenty-five  years,  the  increase  of  population  and  of  build- 
ings has  been  enormous.  Forty  thousand  was  about  the  population  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  to-day  it  is  nearly  three  hundred  thousand.  Buildings 
and  dwellings  have  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic.  Long  rows  of  brown  stone 
and  brick  buildings  have  risen,  seemingly,  in  the  space  of  a  single  night. 
The  past  year  has  seen  no  diminution,  and,  in  fact,  the  new  buildings  q/1868 
exceed  in  value  those  of  any  precious  year.  More  elegant  and  costly  public 
buildings  have  been  erected  since  the  1st  of  January,  1868,  than  in  any  one 
previous  year,  and  although  the  number  of  buildings  is  not  as  large  as  in 
1807,  yet,  as  was  stated  above,  the  value  far  exceeds  it.  In  1867,  3,539 
buildings  were  erected,  and  in  1868  but  3,307  were  put  up.  Of  these,  375 
were  brown  stone  fronts;  775,  brick ;  and  1915  frame  dwellings;  3  stone,  7 
brick,  and  9  frame  church  edifices ;  1  brick  school-house ;  41  brick  and  24 
frame  buildings,  for  manufacturing  purposes;  7  brick,  10  frame  stores,  and 
140  buildings  of  a  miscellaneous  character.  The  greatest  number  of  these 
buildings  were  erected  in  the  7th,  9th,  10th,  17th,  18th,  21st,  and  22d 
wards,  the  21st  taking  the  lead,  principally,  however,  in  the  frame  structures. 
This  only  includes  those  buildings  which  were  completed  within  the  year, 
and  not  those  which  were  commenced.  The  increase  in  value,  however,  is 
not  as  great  in  the  dwelling  as  in  the  public  buildings,  which  are  to  become 

63 


498  HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 

an  ornament  to  the  city.  IN^otwithstanding  the  great  number  of  dwelling 
houses  that  have  been  erected,  the  demand  has  been  greater  than  the  sup- 
ply. Even  at  this  time  of  the  year  vacant  houses  upon  the  Heights,  that 
portion  of  the  city  called  the  Hill,  and  that  portion  of  South  Brooklyn 
lying  in  the  neighborhood  of  Carroll  Park,  are  eagerly  snapped  up,  arid  it 
is  very  rarely  the  case  that  a  house  in  any  of  these  neighborhoods  lies  vacant 
or  unengaged  for  the  space  of  a  week.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  almost 
without  exception,  the  great  number  of  dwelling  houses  have  been  erected 
by  builders,  wbo  have  amassed  a  sufficient  sum  and  embarked  it  all  in  this 
enterprise  j  in  short,  the  vast  improvement  in  the  real  estate  of  Brooklyn 
has  been  due  more  to  the  enterprise  of  the  builders  and  speculators  than  to 
the  capitalists  and  large  landholders. 

Among  the  public  buildings  completed  and  commenced  during  the  year 
1868,  may  be  especially  mentioned  the  iron  structure  of  the  Long  Island 
Safe  Deposit  Company,  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Fulton  streets,  costing 
$150,000  j  the  large  building  of  the  Union  Association,  on  the  opposite  cor- 
ner, costing  $33,000  j  Burnham's  Gymnasia,  corner  of  Smith  and  Schermer- 
horn  streets,  costing  $90,000;  the  elegant  Mercantile  Library  building,  in 
Montague  street,  costing,  with  the  two  adjoining  buildings,  $181,000  *}  the 
new  St.  Ann's  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  on  corner  of  Clinton  and  Liv- 
ingston, costing  about  $200,000  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Duryea's  new  church  in  Classon 
Avenue,  costing  about  $100,000 ;  the  Skating  Rink,  costing  $30,000 ;  a 
riding  school  in  Pacific  street,  between  Nevins  and  Powers,  cost  $12,000; 
two  large  buildings  on  corner  of  Court  and  Livingston  streets,  in  the 
French  style  of  architecture,  costing  $60,000 ;  Messrs.  Horton,  Son  &  Co/s 
splendid  store  on  Fulton  Avenue,  above  Grallatin  Place,  costing  $45,000 ; 
Armstrong's  &  Blacklin's,  213,  Fulton  ;  the  Adelphi  Academy,  on  Lafayette 
Avenue,  $18,800  ;  the  church  of  the  North  Reformed  congregation  in 
Twelfth  street,  costing  nearly  $60,000  ;  that  of  the  Carlton  Ave.  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  corner  of  Clermont  and  Willoughby  Avenues,  $75,000  j 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  our  Lady  of  Mercy,  in  DeBevoise  street, 
$70,000  j  the  new  church  edifice  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  (Roman  Catholic) 
costing,  with  land,  $75,000  ;  frame  churches  for  St.  James's  and  for  St.  Ste- 
phen's congregations  j  several  large  warehouses ;  and  the  superb  building 
of  the  Kings  County  Savings  Bank,  corner  of  Fourth  street  and  Broadway, 
E.  D.,  costing  $195,000. 

In  State,  Pacific  and  Dean  streets  and  in  Fourth  avenue  a  large  number 
of  houses  of  brown  stone,  brick  and  mastic  fronts  are  going  up.  In  fact, 
this  is  heard  from  all  parts  of  the  city.  In  the  twentieth  and  seventh  wards 
many  are  going  up  in  long  rows  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  sixth, 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN.  499 

eighth,  ninth,  tenth,  twenty-first,  and  twenty-second  wards.  In  the  ninth 
and  twenty-first  wards,  outside  of  the  fire  limits,  it  is  estimated  in  round 
numbers,  that  there  are  over  two  hundred  frame  buildings,  in  course  of  erec- 
tion, which  will  be  held  at  $8,500.  A  greater  number  of  better  stores  have 
been  erected  during  the  past  year,  to  be  rented,  than  in  any  previous  year, 
a  hopeful  sign  for  the  business  interests  of  Brooklyn.  Upon  Fulton, 
Myrtle,  and  Atlantic  avenues  a  number  of  fine  stores  have  been  and  now  are 
in  course  of  erection. 

From  the  foregoing  it  may  be  seen  that  the  increase  in  the  value  of  real 
estate  to  the  city  must  be  very  considerable.  In  the  year  1864,  the  value 
of  new  buildings  added  to  the  city  was  $1,631,250  ;  in  1865,  $1,838,500; 
in  1866,  $2,531,000;  and  in  1867,  $3,562,600.  It  has  been  impossible  for 
us  at  this  time  of  the  year  to  get  at  the  exact  number  of  buildings  that  have 
been  erected  in  1868,  or  their  exact  value.  Iu  fact,  we  have  but  a  very 
small  portion,  yet  we  are  enabled  to  figure  a  value  nearly  as  much  as  in  any 
previous  year  —  $3,315,200. 

In  Williamsburgh,  the  value  of  property  has  increased  at  an  astonishing 
rate,  owing  no  doubt  to  the  widening  of  South  Sixth  and  South  Seventh 
streets.  Many  of  the  property  holders  along  the  line  of  the  streets  named 
were  against  the  improvement.  Since  then  these  very  men  have  been  made 
rich  by  the  movement.  It  appeared  that  the  widening  of  the  streets  cost 
$400,000,  while  real  estate  has  increased  in  value  over  $500,000.  The  Wil- 
liamsburgh Savings  Bank  has  just  purchased  a  piece  of  property  on  the 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Fifth  street,  112  feet  front  on  Broadway  by  100 
feet  on  Fifth  street,  for  $110,000,  on  which  to  erect  a  banking  house.  This 
is  said  to  be  the  largest  sum  ever  paid  for  building  lots  in  the  Eastern  Dis- 
trict. The  property  could  have  been  bought  prior  to  the  widening  of  the 
street  for  $20,000,  and  the  houses  gave  the  value  to  the  estate.  Now  the 
property  is  sold  for  $110,000,  and  the  houses  are  torn  down  as  worthless." 

The  number  of  houses  built  during  the  year  1868,  is,  however,  only  one 
of  the  evidences  that  may  be  adduced  of  the  rapid  growth  of  Brooklyn. 
During  the  year  an  enormous  and  unprecedented  amount  of  street  improve- 
ment was  effected,  in  the  matter  of  grading,  paving,  and  laying  down  water 
and  sewer  pipes.  Twenty-three  miles  of  improved  streets  were  added  to  the 
city,  rendering  about  seven  or  eight  thousand  city  lots  available  for  building 
purposes,  which  previously  were  not  so  available.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore, 
that,  great  as  the  increase  of  buildings,  the  Street  Department  doubly  kept 
pace  with  the  progress  of  house  building,  and  furnished  twice  as  much  new 
street  frontage  as  the  3,200  newly  erected  buildings  occupied.  After  all 
the  thousands  of  new  houses  Brooklyn  built  in  1868,  she  offered,  to  the 


500 


HISTORY  OF  BROOKLYN. 


builder,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  street  approaches  to  three  or  four  thousand 
more  lots  than  were  approachable  for  building  at  beginning. 

While  the  Street  Department  thus  furnished  means  of  getting  access  to 
unoccupied  lots,  the  Water  and  Sewerage  Department  was  not  idle  in  ren- 
dering house  property  more  valuable,  by  adding  to  the  first  necessity  of 
streets,  the  scarcely  less  necessary  elements  of  a  water  supply  and  drainage. 
In  the  year  1867,  sixteen  miles  of  water  pipes  were  laid  and  fourteen  miles 
of  sewers.  At  the  commencement  of  1868,  therefore,  there  existed  in  the 
city  210  miles  of  water  pipe,  and  134  miles  of  sewers.  The  total  street 
length  of  Brooklyn  is  about  500  miles.  Of  this  only  about  one-half  is  at  all 
occupied  as  yet  by  houses  and  population.  Much  of  it  exists  in  the  form 
of  water  and  swamp  lots,  which  will  probably  for  many  years  yet  remain  unbuilt 
upon.  In  1868,  there  were  fourteen  miles  of  water  pipe  laid  and  sixteen 
of  sewers  —  a  reversal  of  the  figures  of  the  former  year.  On  the  first  of 
January,  1869,  there  were  150  miles  of  sewer  and  224  of  water  pipes  lying 
beneath  the  street  surface  of  Brooklyn.  Especially  in  the  sixteenth  ward 
has  the  sewerage  been  largely  and  efficiently  prosecuted. 


